A Weekend at Reficul's
by Fan Of Games
Summary: Having spent the whole week working hard, Reficul reaches the weekend. Seeking to spend it with some time to herself and Sin, Reficul soon realizes this is the weekend when Sin wanted to have friends over. Although she is fine with the guests, there was someone she did not want there. Macarona received an invitation as well, much to Reficul's dismay as her fear came to her.
1. Chapter One: Arrival in Reficul's World

"What a cold and dreary midday for the end of the week." Her comment was critical since for once she had expected it to at least be a little nicer out. Usually the thunderstorms common for this region of their underworld would at least sound off their appearance, but even these could get old fast when staring at the light produced by each clap of thunder lost interest in the spectacle. A fog would've also been welcome as well because they could go out for a nice walk together despite the moisture making it cold and damp. As it was, the boring rain still made it feel like the morning was cold from the looks of it, yet the blandness of simple rain was enough to tire anybody. "I was hoping for a little change of pace for once. Perhaps a tornado within the eye of a hurricane can be welcomed as a new sight if one were to pass across the valley yonder."

"I should hope not, Refi," Sin remarked with a small smile, eyes closed as she buttered two biscuits for herself, "at least, not for the next several days or so." Taking a bite out of one, she also averted her attention outside and gazed calmly at the rain pattering on the patio outside their parlor. "I don't mind the rain. I think it looks quite lovely. It's very serene, don't you think so too, Refi?"

"Can't argue with that," the Devil remarked from her spot at the window, standing there to watch a pair of vultures fight over a piece of carrion a short distance from the stone fence built for housing the outdoor garden. "Yes, it is indeed a peaceful atmosphere, like in all your sketches. I'd count the number of rain drawings in your gallery, though I'm afraid I'd lose count of your favorite weather scenes. At least the others are hanging to differentiate the display by altering the pace."

"I love the rain, but it's not my only favorite muse for sketching. I've got drawings I made of sights and vistas in my friends' worlds too, plus I enjoy drawing family sketches," Sin said, shutting her eyes again after chewing the other biscuit and swallowing it. "I have so many sketches I'd probably need my own storage room for them. That or a museum that can display them—well, I know the local museum in town accepted some of the drawings I gave freely."

"Either because you're a talented artist, or maybe it's because they don't want to disregard your donations because of your relation to me," Reficul pointed out, turning around and sauntering over to the couch so she could take a seat beside Sin and have a few buttered biscuits with her. "It could even be both, you know. Still, it's nice to know your works are receiving recognition."

"True," Sin responded with a brief giggle. "I bet Mors gets those technicalities of his from you. He really does take after you quite a lot, more so than myself. I'm just glad he's been brought up right and spends time with us whenever he's around. Speaking of which, where is Mors? Would he happen to be with some of his friends in town, Refi? I was too busy running errands to check."

"No, he is visiting Glasses. He has business he wished to discuss with him, so he'll be away for the next few days," the Devil explained and ate a biscuit. "I just hope Satanick will not bother them. That man is a horrible influence on others, though it's nice his own son despises him as well. I'm not fond of his mother as well, so hopefully she won't be a nuisance either. Glasses is a good individual and is an excellent businessman, so I'd welcome him here to discuss matters pertaining to the subject. He's one of the best foreign colleagues Mors knows; thankfully they get along and are on cordial terms with one another enough to be considered friends with one another."

"I don't like Satanick too, but Lil's a great friend. Please, try not to be so hard on her, Refi."

"You know I cannot stand her, Sin," Reficul said bitterly without applying venom into her voice and directing it at the snake demon. "She can be childish and she knows nothing of manners, plus she purposely tries to irk me whenever we're near one another. How she became his wife I'll never know, though I care not to bother myself with such disdainful subjects." She sighed to relieve a tad bit of stress produced from thinking about Lil and made eye contact with Sin with a smile to show she was looking forward to spending time with her. "I just want to have a quiet weekend, no objections or anyone who may bother us—save for the servants, of course, since they are welcome. Aside from them, it'll just be the two of us. We can enjoy a nice movie together and read some of the manuscripts in our library. Perhaps we can even dine on some fine cuisine or even go out. Your choice is always welcome, so please be sure to give what we can do some thought."

"Thank you, Refi," Sin smiled happily and embraced the Devil in a hug. "I appreciate that, though do recall I'll be having company over for the weekend since I invited my friends over."

"Friends?" Reficul inquired, somewhat confused. "You didn't say anything about that."

"I left you a note about that on the nightstand. We were both really busy with work and all that I couldn't find the time to really explain it beforehand. Luckily I had enough time to jot down the dates and who's coming so you could read it," the snake demon explained. "Have you not had a chance to read it yet, Refi?" It was an innocent question, one without malice as she was curious.

The Devil shut her eyes and put a bent finger to her chin so she could try to remember that. It had been a busy week, true, and neither of them had brought up that matter. "I think…" she said after a bit of thought, "there may have been something there, but it must've been buried beneath a few other papers, documents I've brought home from work to go over with standard junk mail. I'd thrown the latter out after shredding it, and your note might've been under those by accident. I am sorry for not reading it if that was the case," Reficul apologized to her sincerely, finishing a biscuit.

"Oh, that's quite alright, Refi," Sin politely waved it off with a smile, shutting her eyes. "It is no big deal really, just a usual gathering with the same friends from other worlds except Killie."

"Including Lil?" Reficul checked with some disinterest more in the individual than the idea of inviting her, though Sin nodded to confirm the suspicion regardless. "I see," Reficul said calmly. "So long as she keeps her distance from me while you help maintain that distance and her behavior, I've no problems with her coming over. Are you sure Rosaliya also has time to join us?"

"And Rane too, don't forget about her," Sin reminded the Devil. "They'll all be here," she added as one of the maids arrived with a tea set so the snake demon could pour a couple cups of it for herself and Reficul. She took up the teapot and let the tea gently gush out into the cups, offering the first one to the Devil while taking the second for herself. "Hopefully all goes well, Refi. Please be sure to be on your best behavior with them, especially Lil and Macarona."

"Yes, I pro—wait, what?" Reficul uttered stoically with her eyes shut until they opened up in surprise. "Come again, Sin? Who else did you say was coming besides the other ladies?"

Sin smiled and closed her eyes. "Why, Macarona, of course."

Reficul whipped her head around to do a spit take and whipped it back. "SHE WHAT?!"

The snake demon sighed in frustration, having anticipated the Devil's reaction. "Yes, Refi, I've also invited Macarona over as well. Do be nice and try not to antagonize her," she instructed.

The maid who had come to deliver the tea appeared bewildered at the Devil's aversion as she was cleaning up the tea Reficul spat out. Yet she made sure to eavesdrop as she and some other servants liked to gossip about general topics. Occasionally Sin joined them, and the Devil had no qualms with their conversations so long as they weren't saying anything belittling towards anyone. Rumors were rumors, and Reficul did not interfere unless it happened to actually be true and she'd chosen to either disprove the notion or agree to its validity. The Devil's thoughts on all of the close friends Sin had were known to them, yet this new individual—Macarona—seemed to invoke some kind of fearful reaction from Reficul which made the maid chuckle slightly. Reficul and Sin didn't mind that kind of laughter either even if it was directed at them because the snake demon was quite capable of taking a joke aimed at her and the Devil couldn't really care less.

"But why?!" Reficul protested nervously, wondering what could have been the reason Sin had to even think of inviting the young angel over to their home for the weekend.

"Because, Refi, Macarona has given us a tour of Gray Village when we went there," came the logical explanation from Sin who merely shut her eyes and jutted a finger in the air as a means of further emphasizing her point. "I thought it would be proper to thank her by inviting her over to meet with us and get to know my friends just as she introduced us to hers."

"B-but, b-but, s-she's an angel!" the Devil pointed out which caught the maid by surprise; neither she nor Reficul ever heard about inviting an angel to an underworld of demons. However, the maid was familiar with the somewhat okay relationship between Satanick and Fumus since he had been over several times to conduct business and political negotiations with Reficul, and he did mention the God of his own world a few times. Furthermore, she heard of the Gray Garden through her masters when Reficul had aided in the conflict against Ivlis and after a day trip there. Even so, an angel in an underworld of demons…a tough concept to believe unless it was a Fallen Angel.

"Yes, she is. What difference does that make, Refi?" Sin scolded Reficul for that. "It's the same thing with you and Mercury; I know you're still acquaintances with her even though neither of you have ever seen each other since you fell from Elux's heaven." Ah, so the snake demon was also referring to another angel the Devil knew and was still cordial with despite the fact she wasn't on good terms with the Goddess anymore. "Are the two of you no longer on the same page? What does that mean about my friendship with Macarona? Are angels and demons not allowed to make peace and be friends? The Gray Garden's certainly the best place for such blissful harmony."

"Y-yes, it most definitely is," Reficul conceded the point hastily before adding, "She would be much better off in her own world than coming to a hostile world."

"I sent one of my rose badges along with the invitation to her, instructing Macarona to wear it while in our world so none of our inhabitants attacks her. The demons here are already aware of the Gray Garden and your friendship with its Goddess and Devil which comprises the alliance we share with that world," Sin went on in her explanation, remaining patient with Reficul. "Therefore, our demons may be suspicious of her even if she mentions her world, but the rose badge will help."

"B-but your g-guests won't accept her!" the Devil brought up another point, hoping she'd convince Sin to let Macarona know via mail or some other means of communication that the angel shouldn't have come. Granted, there was no real reason why she shouldn't other than a strong fear Reficul had of her—which was actually more of a phobia, really.

"I've already informed them as well and requested they treat her nicely. They replied back saying they would see what she's like and give her a chance to determine if they'll like her. I have even asked Rane to meet her at the train station to pick Macarona up and bring her here," came yet another point from Sin who had apparently thought through everything already.

"W-what if s-she d-decides not t-to s-show?!" Reficul asked, seizing the snake demon and drawing closer to her, desperately wishing she could hopefully avoid having the angel over.

"She replied as well, a little later than the RSVP date, saying she'll be here soon while also explaining why she couldn't contact me sooner," the snake demon commented and then continued speaking right away because she figured the Devil would capitalize on whatever the angel's reason for staying back was to try and persuade Macarona into staying home. "It seems her friend's older sister had gone missing recently, but she was found and her friend wanted her to come and acquire some stories about her time here as a get well present. Such a sweet gift for the poor girl, wouldn't you agree, Refi?" Sin then inquired because she thought it was nice of Macarona to do that, so she also wanted to know the Devil opinion on that too. "We can tell her all about our world."

"F-fine, s-sure, whatever, b-but d-doesn't s-she have s-school or something?!"

"Macarona has also said her teachers and school principal encouraged her to come as well," Sin answered her, calmly sipping her tea. "Even Kcalb and Etihw heard about it too; they approve of her visiting us. She garnered so much approval from everyone, and I secured promises from my other friends that they will be open to her. Everybody is fine with this except for one person." Sin's smile turned into a frown and she began to look at Reficul with a critical gaze, unrelenting because she knew the real reason why the Devil was making such a fuss about this. "You, Refi," she stated in an acute tone of voice which she utilized to chide the Devil. "You refuse her out of fear."

"W-wha—M-me?!" Reficul asked, trying to sound shocked on purpose—the maid did not express any sort of surprise herself, seeing how she made a correct guess based on how the Devil's reactions came across as timid and demure. The poor Devil attempted to regain her composure due to having lost it entirely, though it unfortunate for her because she couldn't. At best, all she could do was stutter and stammer at the thought of having Macarona as a guest. "T-that's n-not—t-that's crazy! I-I-I would never refuse anyone!" she exclaimed, trying to sound more confident despite an intense straining of her voice which fractured because of her phobia. "I-I-I'm not s-scared of her!"

"Good, then you won't mind her spending the next several days with us and the others too," Sin remarked to end the conversation before it got worse for Reficul, closing her eyes while taking the final sip of her tea. She had thought the argument was over, but Reficul just had to be difficult.

"A-actually, I-I-I do mind!" the Devil kept trying to hammer her objection of having a lone angel come visit them and spend an entire weekend here. "W-we spent a day in her c-company! It wasn't t-that long! S-surely a single day trip would b-be necessary! Y-you can show her around!"

"No, absolutely not, Refi. I'll not refuse Macarona simply because you're terrified of her. She's a sweet girl, and I'm quite positive she'll be willing to overlook and forgive any problems you cause so long as you act mature around her instead of being a frightened kitten. You're causing animosity between you and her. Macarona isn't the problem, it's your actions that make her mad, Refi." Reficul kept trying to argue with the snake demon so she could at least go somewhere else and let Sin know she wasn't going to be around, but Sin refused to back down. "I'll not allow you to disgrace this get-together just because you're scared of one of the guests. It isn't often I invite them over since I usually go to their worlds, so all I ask if for you to behave properly. That's it; it isn't as difficult as you're making it out to be, Refi. Just a simple weekend and that's it."

"B-b-but, b-b-but—' Reficul tried to protest, but Sin interjected.

"No buts anymore, Refi, Macarona is spending the weekend with us and that's final."

"A-alright, f-fine, s-she can stay!" Reficul finally gave in, but not before she made one last comment about the debate. "I-I'll just go someplace else while you…" Yet her voice died away as she caught the snake demon glaring at her like a parent scolding his or her child.

" _Refi…"_ Sin uttered, sounding exactly like the parent in this interaction as she applied the tone one used to rebuke the child via critical scolding when the latter did something wrong. It had made Reficul wince and squeak timidly as the Devil shrank away from the snake demon in fear.

"U-um, I-I'm s-sorry…" Reficul said bashfully, looking down at her lap in shame until she looked up at Sin again when the other lady patted her on the head. "S-Sin…"

"Please, Refi, just try to behave and act like a good hostess with me," Sin said calmly now that she had finally settled her down. She didn't have to scold Reficul anymore, and gave the Devil some comfort to soothe her frayed nerves. "I'm not asking for much on this. All I'd like is for you welcome our guests with open arms regardless of who they are. That's all, understand?" Reficul silently nodded demurely to show she did as Sin smiled happily, shutting her eyes while rising to slither away. "Thank you, Refi. Everything is already being prepared, so rehearse to be a hostess."

Reficul watched her depart and sighed nervously when she was gone, putting her face into her hands as she pondered just how bad it would be if she upset Macarona with the others watching her squirm and shiver in horror due to her phobia of the angel. A small chuckle from the maid who was still present made Reficul jump since it startled her. "W-what are still doing here?" she asked while her whole face turned red from embarrassment. "G-get back to work." The maid laughed as she left too, leaving the Devil alone with her fear of Macarona and how to try dealing with it.

…

Lowrie had told her everything he knew about this region of his old world; from what she'd seen so far, Macarona guessed he was right. For the past fifteen minutes she'd been sitting on one of the benches on a platform of a train station watching the demons go about their business as one of the trains scheduled for arrival came and left. All of them stared at her and whispered about her, wondering why an angel was amongst them wearing one of Sin's rose badges. They left Macarona to her own devices and she left them to theirs while she reflected on what she'd seen. The city was certainly impressive, what with its several skyscrapers and corporate offices reaching high up in the sky while smaller shops rested at their bases. Each of them were named after whoever managed them it seemed, save for a few examples such as a couple big businesses and many of the shops.

If she had time to tour this place in greater detail, Macarona would've loved to because she wanted to learn more about this world and its customs. Looking up at the ceiling to observe all the magenta purple and navy blue tiles covering the entire framework, the young angel closed her eyes and stretched her arms in the air before checking her watch for the time. It was nearly two o' clock and it had taken her several hours to get to this world, partly by foot and partly by a tram car which traveled between the underworlds. Even the demons there gave her odd looks which she attributed to hostile curiosity, yet even they refused to attack her because she had the rose badge clipped onto her sailor uniform. Adjusting the position of her cap, Macarona pulled her cellphone out and began to check for any messages she received from her friends asking her what the trip was like. So many of the other students at school heard about it, and they wasted no time bombarding her with worded inquiries about Reficul's underworld, but she replied back with a simple message letting everyone know she'd share her stories with them once she returned from the brief vacation.

She had just pulled it away when her eyes caught a glimpse of two demons from the crowd split from them to approach her. They looked mighty suspicious of her, but Macarona wasn't even bothered by that. She was a stranger in a strange world, after all, especially since she was an angel. It was only natural they'd be bothered by her presence. Maybe they were even upset about it. One of them didn't seem to portray any discomfort as he appeared to be somewhat interested in why a lone angel had come to their underworld. The other just looked plain ferocious with his fists drawn at his sides; from what Lowrie said, it appeared this cow demon was Ushio.

"Well, well, what have we here," the other demon attired in a gray shirt, black pants, along with a long, white coat said to get her attention. His shoes matched the color of his pants, plus his wings did too. Those were in sets of four which protruded from both his back and his head as those bangs over his head hung down in three distinct points that weren't too sharp. "An angel in a world of demons." His voice was full of poisonous venom which he directed her at when he spoke. "And just what might a young angelic lass like yourself be doing here of all places, girlie?"

Although this guy sounded unpleasant, Macarona wouldn't let him disturb her as she was an outsider in this underworld. His suspicion and spiteful attitude towards her was justified in that regard because he was a demon who belonged here. Her presence was unlike anything he must've known about this place, so it was only natural for him to interrogate an unwelcome angel. Demons, even if they were foreigners were probably still allowed because they were demons, but angels did not meet the same standards of approval because they were meant to be enemies of demons.

Macarona was aware of this distinction despite having come from a world where that didn't apply anymore. She learned about it from her teachers at school, particularly Lowrie, and even the Goddess and Devil had spoken about it too. Even Ivlis' invasion was a good example even though his was an outside force. In any case, the young angel sought to make a good impression even if it was going to be difficult getting that across to them. "Good day, gentlemen, how may I help you?" she asked with a smile. "My name's Macarona, and I come from the Gray Garden." She opted for a direct approach by politely introducing herself to them. Although Macarona could've asked this cow demon if he really was Ushio, she felt that was jumping the gun a little bit.

"Ah, the world our Devil seems to appreciate," the demon, a doctor by the looks of it, said in response. "You people were recently invaded by that airhead a while back, am I right?" With a nod to confirm the inquiry as true, she allowed him to proceed in the conversation. "I suspected as much; you do have that air about you. It's unlike the standard impressions one gets from angels. I suppose you must think of yourself and that pitiful world of yours quite highly for being unique in that regard. It's a shame you people are not dead yet. I was personally rooting for the airhead."

Macarona was going to ask him if he and his companion here would politely stop insulting her world, but decided against it and kept her tongue in check. Saying the wrong thing could reflect poorly on herself and the Gray Garden, plus it risked inciting another invasion and a possible war. She smiled slightly uneasily and chuckled, successfully stifling her discomfort and hiding it behind a wall of proper etiquette. "Yes, I suppose we might be considered out of the ordinary, but we are satisfied with the decision our respective people made to stop fighting. We don't ask for much and we are pretty content with our lifestyle, but all we seek is peace and harmony between us."

"Then why don't you get your ass back to your own world, bitch?" the cow demon asked in an aggressive tone. "And when you do, be sure to tell that jackass, Lowrie, I'll kick the shit out of him next time he shows his worthless mug around this joint, you follow?" Huffing in annoyance, he dusted off the gray coat he wore and crossed his arms to display his irritation.

"Oh, you know Mr. Lowrie?" Macarona asked, attempting to act surprised. "He's a teacher of mine at school. I like him a lot because he's a really great guy and he's so nice. Though I appear to be getting ahead of myself since I haven't yet asked you gentlemen for your names."

"Oh, she still refers to us as gentlemen despite the fact we're not even close to receiving a highly prestigious honor like that," the other demon commented sarcastically, averting his eyes to the cow demon. "Such nice manners for a pathetic angel like her, right Ushio?" he asked him while the other smirked in agreement and snickered. "But very well, I suppose we can entertain this petty formality for a bit." He had turned back to Macarona when saying this. "I'm Alibe, a doctor in this grim city, and this here is Ushio, a military colonel and an infamous street fighter."

"Haven't lost a match once except to that damned birdbrain," Ushio uttered in disdain.

"Says you; you got your ass handed to you on more than one occasion by other fighters."

"Shut the hell up, Alibe! This bitch doesn't need to know that!" the cow demon retorted.

"Um, gentlemen," Macarona spoke up sheepishly to try and break up an argument that was probably going to escalate into an armed conflict, "if you would be so kind as to direct me towards somebody I'm waiting for, I would really appreciate it. I'd still be thankful even if you didn't know because you would've taken the time to see if you could help me look for her."

"And would this someone happen to be Lady Sin?" Alibe inquired suspiciously while he'd begun to reach his hand out to check if the rose badge was authentic or not. "She isn't here. She's at the keep she and our Devil call home if I had to venture a guess. Her shop was closed today."

"I know, she wrote back to me saying another demon named Rane would pick me up."

"And just why the hell is Sin interested in a stupid angel like you?!" Ushio demanded in a surly tone. "There's no way in hell she'd even look at you! You're a pathetic angel, she's a strong demon! Get with the damn program and get lost before I cave your face in and send you to Lowrie in a body bag, pipsqueak?!" He was getting riled up, yet Macarona had to remain calm in front of him even if she wasn't fond of his spiteful attitude. She needed to act like an adult.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Alibe said before she could speak up. "The rose badge on her is legit, though that in of itself doesn't mean Lady Sin actually gave it to her. We can't rule out the possibility she stole it from another demon she knows; plausible, but I'm siding with the theft."

Ushio averted his gaze to Macarona and smiled. "Then I can kill her?" he asked sadistically, punching the palm of his right hand with the left fist. "It should be a bloody message for Lowrie."

"I would not go that far," Alibe suggested, jutting a finger up in the air and looking at him. "Lady Sin wouldn't take too kindly to it in the event she did give this girl a rose badge. Perhaps a severe beating will suffice, though just don't go too far and leave her on the verge of death in case her testimony is correct and she was indeed invited by Lady Sin. And when you are punished, just do me a favor and leave me out of it; I'd rather avoid the trouble of being fingered as the perpetrator who gave you the idea to tone your aggression towards this angel down just a hair."

"Yeah, sure, whatever, I do owe you that much for readjusting my spline, Doc."

"Think nothing of it."

"U-um…" Macarona murmured nervously, afraid of the conflict that seemed to already be breaking out as the crowd gathered around to watch the cow demon inflict harm on her. She quickly reached for one of the two suitcases she brought with her to carry her things and opened it to take out the invitation Sin had sent her. "This is the invitation Sin mailed to me. It's in her handwriting."

"Let me take a look to confirm the validity of this," Alibe remarked, accepting the form to examine it for her. He scrutinized it carefully and eventually shrugged, handing it back. "Sure, it's the same handwriting; though that still doesn't mean it's not a forgery."

"True, I can't argue with that," Macarona conceded the point. "All I have is my word, and you gentlemen are right to distrust me for being an angel regardless of where I come from. I'll not deny that, but don't you believe it would be better to take precautions about this matter so we don't have to fight?" she asked sensibly, hoping they could all avoid a confrontation peacefully. The two demons and the rest of them most likely didn't favor that outcome, however.

"Quite right," Alibe nodded in agreement and looked over to the armed guards over at one of the vending machines. "You guys have no qualms watching an angel get beaten, correct?"

"Nope, all good here," one of them called back as he and the other guards wanted to enjoy the show. "Our money's on good ol' Ushio! Give this wimp the beating she deserves!"

"Thanks, dudes, you should come see me fight in the streets!" Ushio extended an invitation to them with a smile. "I'll split cuts of my earnings with you! The usual place we all go!"

"U-um, gentlemen, I know I said I have only my word that I'm telling the truth, but please allow me to speak to whatever charges you believe are being put against me," Macarona remarked to hopefully settle them down. "You claim I stole this rose badge, but Sin personally said she sent it directly to me as the letter states. You've looked it over extensively, Dr. Alibe."

"True, it said that," he conceded the argument on that.

"Yes, and nobody else from your world has ever visited mine. Ms. Reficul's been there on more than one occasion, once to help our world when Ivlis invaded, and Sin and Mors only visited once with her," Macarona explained, trying to dissuade Ushio from violence and the crowd from joining in whether directly by beating her as well, or by betting on either them—specifically Ushio. "The three of them are stronger than I am, I admit, so how could I steal a rose badge while forging an invitation in her handwriting when I've only seen it once during their day trip?"

"You make a fair case, outsider," Alibe commented, shutting his eyes and crossing his arms while nodding in agreement with her. "But what's not to say you're an individual who has the skill to steal it and forge handwriting from merely glancing at it once from experience?"

"Fair enough, Dr. Alibe, though why don't we ask Sin herself about this matter," the angel suggested, using the idea as a possible notion to avoid this unnecessary conflict.

"And just why the hell would we do that?!" the cow demon retorted angrily, jutting a rude finger at her. "You've no back-up with you, and you're just a puny, little shit who thinks diplomacy gets anywhere! You want us to take it to Sin, give us a good reason why!"

"Well, say you do proceed to beat me? What do you think will happen when she finds out and she has invited me?" She raised another good point, one which made some of the demons who came over to observe the spectacle whisper amongst themselves. Some of them took the risk while others merely walked away because they didn't want to incur the snake demon's wrath onto them. A few had already placed bets on the cow demon, but withdrew them as they departed. Even Alibe didn't want to go that far despite not showing hesitation; he did say Sin might've invited her.

"Indeed, that could get very messy and troublesome for us," he uttered to demonstrate that he understood the consequences of doing something to upset the snake demon. "Lady Sin already threatened to have me sacked from my job and imprison me for supporting Warwick. I can't have her use more military force to keep me under tabs and stop me from communicating with him. I'll pull out for now and head home seeing as how I already returned from seeing a patient. Ciao." He finished speaking and turned to walk off, heading for a staircase to the front lobby. Several armed guards who were also among the crowd, but not with the others by the vending machine, had gone with him. Macarona inferred he was under some kind of internal arrest or something from what he said, though she thought nothing of it since it was probably something to do with a faction dispute. Lowrie told her all about how each underworld had different factions which either worked together or fought against one another for benefits gained from emerging victorious over the defeated party. Reficul's world appeared to be no different in that regard, but she couldn't jump to that conclusion just yet because it was a generalization she hadn't experienced for herself.

Soon the crowd dispersed further. Even the armed guards present didn't want any trouble.

The only two individuals left at that spot were Macarona and Ushio. Sighing in relief since she felt thankful for having peacefully nulled the worst of a dispute through diplomacy—although, it was really more or less a logical threat of angering Sin—the young angel opened her eyes while sitting back down. Stretching her arms behind her head and resting them there, she leaned against her guitar case and continued to make eye contact with the cow demon. "I guess it's just us now," she spoke casually, staying polite even in the face of danger emanating from a demon who would not let this setback stop him from picking a fight. "So what are you going to do now, Mr. Ushio?" It was a valid inquiry, and she wasn't even trying to taunt him. "Do you want to risk angering Sin, or would you like to settle this peacefully and let me know where Rane might be if you know her?"

"Like hell I'd tell you! You think you can get away with this?!" he threatened her and made sure to stomp his foot on the floor to emphasize his rage. "What a load of shit! As if Sin can come to your aid when she isn't even around! I'll pulverize you, you hear me, girlie!"

"Please, Mr. Ushio, I do not want to fight," Macarona held her hands up in defense to plead with him. "I only came here because Sin invited me, and I don't wish to enter a conflict because it would spoil my visit here and leave a bad impression on your world. I know I may not really be a representative of my world as that's not the capacity I'm in, but my actions reflect on the relations my world shares with yours regardless of whether it's through your Devil and her family and also all of the inhabitants of the Gray Garden who would welcome you and your people in peace."

"You think I give two shits from a rat's ass about that?!" the cow demon demanded, having already become so enraged he refused to listen to reason and common sense. "You'll pay for trying to get out of this, bitch, and don't think anyone's going to come around and help you!"

"True, nobody here would come to my aid aside from Sin, her family, and Rane," Macarona remarked to validate his argument. "That being said, however, I can actually hold my own. I know I may not look like much, but I am quite strong for somebody with a weak constitution. I'm a good grappler for one thing, and I also know a couple styles of martial arts like karate and taekwondo."

"Oh, so you can fight?" Ushio didn't sound surprised, but felt enflamed by the fact she was preferring nonviolence over raw conflict. "Then prove it, here and now!" Saying so, he put up his fists and took an offensive stance against her with a smirk because he believed himself to be quite victorious already. "Go ahead, I'm not afraid to hit a girl like you, wimp!"

"Do you really wish to fight so badly?"

"Hell yeah, I do it all the time!"

Macarona closed her eyes and sighed. "So be it, but I must apologize in advance for hurting you. I truly wish to settle this peacefully, but if you insist on sparring with me, I'd be glad to help you let loose some steam to calm yourself down." With that said, she got up and set her things on the bench so nobody would steal them since she was staying close by. Taking a few steps towards a spot several feet away, the young angel took several deep breaths to prepare herself for a brawl. As much as she wanted to avoid it, it seemed there was no way of stopping Ushio.

"That's right," he goaded her on as she raised one hand without forming fists. "Dukes up!"

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Ushio; I hoped it wouldn't come to this," she said in response.

"Screw your apologies and fight!" he commanded before throwing the first punch. Yet the attack was blocked by Macarona's left arm which forced him to use his free fist because she made sure to quickly seize the other arm. Unfortunately for him, the angel grabbed that too once she had guarded against it as well. Ushio smiled, getting ready to head-butt her when he suddenly felt quite a sharp pain his forearms and cried out while she swept a foot under both of his to knock him down as she then proceeded to maneuver behind him after doing so. Her legs wrapped around his to trap them so he wouldn't be able to kick her off even if he could, and she still gripped his arms tightly. "What the hell, girl?!" he shouted in pain, a couple tears forming in his eyes as Macarona suddenly bent the upper half of his body forward with his legs and immediately yanked back quickly. It was a critical blow, and the cow demon swore he heard and felt his ribs and back crack due to pressure from the blow she inflicted on him. He screamed in pain as she released him from her grip and let him slide off her before getting up to stand over him. "W-what the hell did you do to me?!"

"I cracked your forearms, ribs, and back; vital areas of the body that can hinder an opponent from performing effectively in combat. Thankfully I was careful not to choke you via a headlock, otherwise you might fall unconscious or die," she explained and returned to the bench. "I'm really sorry for harming you, Mr. Ushio, though I'm afraid you have asked for it."

"D-damn…" the cow demon murmured softly, feeling the pain as he attempted to stand up by himself. Finding he couldn't since it was difficult to do alone, he whipped his head towards the other demons who were still present and raised his voice in a commanding tone. "Move your asses and help me, goddammit!" They each looked to one another, exchanging glances because they've begun to wonder if it was a good idea or not. Even the armed guards were cautious despite keeping their hands on the weapons sheathed to their sides, unsure if they really were supposed to do their duty as officers by aiding a demon who held the rank of colonel in their army on military business. What held them back was the uncertainty concerning whether Sin would allow it or not. "W-well," Ushio demanded as his face turned red in anger and embarrassment over his defeat at the hands of an angelic girl younger than him. "Is anybody coming?! A bunch of cowards, the lot of you!"

"Allow me," Macarona commented and helped pick the struggling demon off the floor and dusted him off too. "I suggest you take some anger management classes, Mr. Ushio. It's not healthy staying mad at others and fighting with them all the time." Ignoring her offer, Ushio jerked himself away from her and winced in pain while grunting. "I know it hurts which is why I suggest you lay down at home and get some much needed rest. Don't do any strenuous work and it'll get better."

"Piss off, like I'd consider your advice," he retorted coldly. "You cheated anyway."

"You wanted a fight, but never specified the rules of the engagement," Macarona said and went back to the bench. "That's why I assumed anything was fair game with no restrictions. Sorry if I was wrong in my thinking, Mr. Ushio." Although she could've gloated over him since the cow demon was being a sore loser, the angel knew it wasn't nice to brag, especially to her opponent. It must've been difficult for him to accept the fact he lost to a girl, a stereotypical notion of the guys being better than girls which actually changed the perspective into an idea of both sexes being able to do the same things if they put their minds to the tasks and were treated equally. The Gray Garden implemented this lesson into its culture and she was happy that there were no restrictions on anyone who strived to be equal while retaining their differences which contributed to their equality. It was one of the best freedoms she could imagine because she and everyone else in her world advocated for values like individuality, peace, and the aforementioned equality and differences too.

"You damn well were wrong! Alibe and I mentioned I was a street fighter! There are rules in street fighting, you know!" Ushio threw a temper tantrum in spite of the loss and the physical pain. "Shove your damn apologies up your ass and fight me for real!"

"I'm afraid you're in no position to persist in this endeavor, Mr. Ushio," Macarona said as she brushed locks of hair away from her face. She'd been checking to make sure she had everything with her like her guitar; clothes; a couple books from home; and the manuscript she'd been working on regarding Project Dynol Peiriant, the conspiracy, and Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts. She also had her wallet, cellphone, and her purse with all the regular things in it such as an ID card in addition to a couple credit cards as well, plus other ordinary objects. Sitting on the bench while setting aside the last suitcase, Macarona looked up to make eye contact with him. "Your forearms will eventually get tired as the pain could spread throughout the rest of your arms too. With regards to your ribs and back, you won't be able to maneuver efficiently because your arms pull back once you draw them back from performing an action requiring them to move forward. You will slowly begin to feel more pain in these areas of your body should you continue to confront someone in a physical conflict. Further activity could place you at risk of fracturing these key areas of the upper body, thereby reducing you to a state in which your upper body shall be ineffective."

"I can still kick the shit out of you!"

"And I can guard against your legs too and also throw you off balance and crack them too," Macarona added to express her point that additional activity of this sort wasn't recommended. "I'd apologize for cheating in our brief match, though again I must hearken to the original premises of the duel, that being the lack of any rules clarified on what was allowed and what wasn't."

"Think you're so smart, huh?" Ushio asked bitterly to which another voice spoke up.

"Duh, Ushio, no wonder why you're still not very bright," a spider demon commented with a slight chuckle as she sauntered over, her eight legs clicking against the red ceramic floor beneath them. She wore a dark brown dress in tatters—likely because of her legs—with some dark red and a spider web-like pattern on the front of it over a white blouse with a red ribbon over it. Her yellow eyes were quite bright as she gazed upon the two of them while applauding the winner before she scratched at an itch on her cheek with one of her long, black nails. She had a second red ribbon in the left side of her pink hair which flowed down to her waist. The hairstyle was straight, though it included messy bangs and an ahoge. "You've got to have brains over brawns if you seek victory."

"Shut the hell up, Rane, I don't need no stinking brain to pulverize a snot-nosed girl," Ushio barked at her before slinking off in the direction Alibe went in before, making sure to get one last look at the girl who turned the tables on him. "This isn't over, punk, I'll get you for this."

"Good luck!" Rane called towards him sarcastically and giggled at his grumbling. She went over to the bench and smiled down at Macarona. "Macarona, correct?" she asked.

"Yes, you must be Rane, right?" Macarona inquired to confirm she heard Ushio correctly.

"Yep, just stick with me and no one here will think again before bothering you," the spider demon remarked and took a seat besides the angel after Macarona set her things on the floor while Rane did the same with her things too. "Looking forward to this weekend?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm glad Sin invited me," the angel shut her eyes and smiled. "Thank you for showing up, by the way. I was afraid things might've taken a turn for the worse."

Rane smiled. "No problem, Macarona. Sin's told me a lot about you, so I'm glad I made it before things became too ugly. Sorry I'm late, the bus just got into a bit of traffic on the way here, what with this rain and all. These other demons here didn't give you any trouble, did they? We'll speak to Sin about it later once we arrive at the keep; she'll be sure to help out."

"A crowd did form after Mr. Ushio declared he would beat me. I tried explaining why I'm here to them, but they didn't back down until I put forth the idea that Sin could be mad at them for that. I showed the invitation and I've got the rose badge on; Dr. Alibe himself confirmed they were real, though he claimed it could've been a forgery and theft—not that I blame him since he's right to be suspicious of me. I am an outsider in your underworld, and an angel, after all. That's why I'd rather not pursue them for revenge because it's wrong, and I don't want to press charges."

"True, the demons here aren't too trusting of angels; they're fine with other demons if they aren't our enemies too," the spider demon agreed. "However, Sin trusts you a lot and I do too since I trust her judgment. I'm a close friend of Mors and am considered part of the family. If Sin claims you're a friend of hers, you're a friend of me too. Don't feel like it'd be wrong to do what's right; they were in the wrong by suspecting you, so feel free to inform Sin about it. It should help cement your position as our friend because she can lay down ground rules for them to follow. Though let's not discuss that until we arrive at the keep. I'd like to get to know you on the way over, Macarona."

"Sure, it'd be a pleasure," Macarona remarked as their train was announced over a speaker while it pulled into the station. "That must be the train," she added while gathering her things.

"It is," Rane nodded and picked up her own stuff. "Wait till you see their keep. It'll be the most impressive sight you've seen today. Mors isn't in since he's visiting otherworldly friends of his own, so it'll just be us girls with the servants who work for Reficul and Sin. You'll make friends out of the other guests, too, I just know it," she added confidently, knowing it was going to be fun.

"Thanks, I'm looking forward to meeting them!"

…

 **The weekend is upon us both in real life and this fanfic! Quite a coincidence, eh?**

 **I know the hints I provided for the other main characters of this story were given not too long ago and that it was probably a little too early to reveal their identities, but I decided to just confirm a few of them. Rane, Lil, and Rosaliya Phantomrose are in this story, but I'll stay mum on the identities of the angel from Reficul's world and the other demon from Lil's world for now. They'll be revealed when the time is right, so look forward to seeing them.**

 **Warwick is another OC character I've created, though he doesn't appear in this story. He'll be involved in a few of my other projects down the road, though I can give you a general idea of what he's like. His name comes from the sixteenth Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville, who was an active participant in the Wars of the Roses and helped depose two kings. He was known as the Kingmaker because of this latter achievement, and he also fought for the Yorks. He also maintained connections over the borders of England and was influential in garnering political support from others to aid whatever his causes were.**

 **Although he is partly based on this historical person, in my mind he will also be more like Black Mask from the Batman universe, specifically Roman Sionis, the first Black Mask. Jeremiah Arkham became the second Black Mask. Black Mask is one of my favorite Batman villains because of how ruthless he is, and he definitely made quite an impression in Arkham Origins in my opinion (it was revealed that Joker usurped him). I liked the treatment he had received in that game, so it'll be the inspirational point I'll look to when developing Warwick. I also recommend watching Deathstroke: Arkham Assassin, a fan made YouTube video that shows how Deathstroke was hired to be one of the eight assassins in the game. Black Mask's role in that video definitely fits his image set by Warner Bros. Montreal in Arkham Origins.**

 **You can find more about Richard Neville and Black Mask on Wikipedia, and you can also watch the aforementioned Deathstroke: Arkham Assassin, a nonprofit project made by fans on a YouTube channel called GoingNowhereShow. I highly recommend it, though if the people who worked on Deathstroke: Arkham Assassin wish for me to not look towards their project as further inspiration, I shall respect their request and refer only to Arkham Origins.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Gray Garden; it's owned by Mogeko. I don't own Batman and Black Mask; they're owned by DC Comics. I don't own Deathstroke: Arkham Assassin; it's owned by GoingNowhereShow. I don't own Batman: Arkham Origins; it's owned by Warner Bros. Montreal.**

 **I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**

 **Edit: I have edited a couple things in this story. First, I had mistakenly written Kiku's name as Kic, which is the same way Ludella wrote her name in a one-shot called Satanick's Romantic Misfortunes That, Sometimes, Are Fortunate. At first I thought Kiku was referred to as Kic in canon until I recently Googled her character. Due to my mistake, I have removed the references to her from this story to avoid committing plagiarism and I am sincerely sorry for not having realized it sooner. I also capitalized 'Fallen Angel' within this chapter of the story to stay consistent with the capitalization of it in a later chapter.**

 **Edit Two: Since I have made the decision to include Killie amongst Lil's friends when I was writing** _An Otherworldly Marital Dispute_ **, I have decided to mention her in this chapter of the story. However, she is only mentioned because she's not a character in this story, hence why she doesn't make an appearance.** _An Otherworldly Marital Dispute_ **explains why.**


	2. Chapter Two: The Guests

"So, what's your first impression of our world so far, Macarona?" Rane inquired, munching on a pretzel she purchased from one of the vendors on board. The two of them had already acquired a cabin for themselves and sat down across from one another, snacking while conversing amiably about the angel's thoughts on this world. They had also purchased some grape juice too which they sipped every so often on the way over to the keep where Reficul and Sin lived.

"It's quite impressive," Macarona responded with a smile. "The city was so large I almost got lost en route to the train station, but thankfully the street signs were easy to understand. I really enjoyed seeing the horse drawn carriages used for transportation there when nobody's flying. The shops in the city all had interesting inventories from what I saw through the display windows. It's a shame I didn't have time to get a souvenir or two for the memories."

"I heard we might go back into the city if the weather's good," the spider demon said since she had spoken with Sin about possible plans for this weekend. "I'm sure Lowrie must've made a remark about the weather in our world always being cruddy. That's because the Goddess, Elux, is hogging the good weather for her heaven. Reficul used to be one of her angels, but resigned since she hated how egotistical Elux was. The Goddess threw a temper tantrum like Ushio did and made her into a demon before she became the Devil of our underworld."

"So how did Ms. Reficul acquire her status?" the angel asked curiously. "How can a demon become a powerful Devil? I heard there were numorous factions in other worlds; is that a factor?"

"Indeed," Rane answered her and went into an explanation of that as rain pattered down on the window by them. "All worlds have different customs of electing a Devil or a deity. Each heaven and underworld has factions which comprise political parties and sectors of the worlds. Sometimes factions fight others for power as they try to set a representative of their respective factions as the one in charge. Those in heavens stick to their territories up there, and underworld factions remain below. All heavens are pretty much unified with no conflict between the factions, but underworlds usually have conflicting interests a number of factions fight over. Ours is unique as Reficul used diplomacy to secure common ground and find agreement between all of them, and they nominated her as the Devil. However, her nomination had to be approved by the queen of underworlds and a letter of recommendation had to be sent to the Great Witch from our world's witch for approval."

"The queen?" Macarona asked. "There's a sovereign ruler the Devils serve and witches?"

"Yes, her name is GriRea, and she resides in another underworld. All demons and Devils pay homage and tribute to her, though they are allowed to run their own affairs in their respective underworlds. It's essentially feudalism as that's the political system underworlds follow, yet the government of each individual one could be different. Heavens follow a universally democratic system, though individually they too have different governments. For example, Reficul made this underworld democratic despite the fact the factions still want her to be the Devil; I guess you could call it a monarchial democracy. Elux's heaven is a dictatorship; she controls a huge government all by herself and keeps a council of angels who are basically her yes-men slaves."

"Sounds like some heavens are not as good as the underworlds," Macarona commented as she took another bite of her own pretzel while Rane continued the lecture. "And the witches?"

"I don't know who the Great Witch is, but I've heard about Tuchikure, our world's witch. She's known as the Witch of the Wasteland, though I've never really laid eyes on her. I also don't really know about too many underworlds apart from the ones I went to with Sin," the spider demon stated, taking a sip of her grape juice. "This one's definitely better than a heaven run by a deified dictator with a big ego. We don't have much of a crime rate and all the demons in this underworld are equal with their differences. The economy's good as businesses do function properly since they generate good revenue; gold coins make up the standard currency all worlds utilize, so a coin from another world would be worth the same value in another. There's a lot about our underworld that's positive, except weather patterns can be a problem because Elux doesn't share the good weather as I said. Thankfully Reficul used her powers to divert significantly bad weather from settlements to prevent major loss of life which was a boon to factions. We've no worries about settled spaces getting destroyed by natural disasters since those included with the weather patterns were greatly reduced in power so they won't cause any damage to anything or harm anybody."

"Good thing Ms. Reficul's such a benevolent Devil to her people," the young angel said to compliment the Devil's style of maintaining her reign. "Mr. Lowrie said she was an amazing Devil when he told me all about what she did for her underworld. It must be a pleasant honor living here in her underworld, having someone like her maintain authority with such a firm, yet gentle grasp."

"Thank you, Macarona," Rane remarked with a smile. "I'm glad you hold our underworld in high regard." Having finished their juice, they discarded the bottles in the recycling bin in their cabin. "By the way, speaking of Reficul, Sin told me you and she have kind of a rocky bond. Are the two of you in disagreement on some matters? I hope it's nothing too bad or serious."

"Oh, that," Macarona said and took her manuscript out. "There's a few good reasons for it. I don't hate Ms. Reficul, though there were a few minor problems she caused in my world. You're right that it isn't all that serious, but I should clarify that for her sake. Let me just find it, the page is somewhere in here…" Flipping through the pages, she cast a quick glance to Rane and put in another inquiry why she searched for the material. "Why don't you tell me how you met them?"

"Oh, we met about fifteen years ago when I was eight. I was first introduced to Mors before Sin and I met, then I was brought before Reficul," the spider demon answered and stretched all of her legs while putting her head back into her arms which she raised behind it. "Sin's a seamstress; she gave me a job in her shop and the two of us work together there. She and her family see me as a daughter of sorts, though I don't live in the keep since I moved to a small town just close by. It's right over there," she explained and pointed out the window towards a town in the distance. "That's where the shop is, and I'm also pretty close to the keep since it's a half hour from my house. This place is a suburban community on the coast of a lake with a great view when the weather isn't that bad. I enjoy living there because of the sights and the bakery; sweets and pastries there taste swell."

"Seems like a great place to make a living," Macarona complimented her while giving the manuscript to Rane. "This is the page. Ms. Reficul helped free my friends and I from Ivlis' prison and she also aided in the defense against his invasion. However, that's where we ran into a snag." She pointed to the page Rane analyzed to cite it. "A few problems had arisen with regards to our interactions with one another, though I'm hoping the weekend will be great if she's well behaved. Bear in mind, I've got nothing against Ms. Reficul, but she has to express herself clearly to others in a clear manner and explain her actions so she can get her intentions across better.

…

"This is going to be a disaster…" Reficul whimpered, burying her face in her hands. "Sin, please, I don't think I can go through with this. I-I'll leave you and your friends alone, b-but keep Macarona away from me. You know what happens when the two of us are around each other."

"We've been over this, Refi," the snake demon didn't budge from her position, sipping the orange juice she poured for herself while conversing with the Devil in the kitchen. Poor Reficul's nerves were frayed because of her relationship with Macarona, how she usually screwed something up in her presence to make the angel mad at her. Although Sin had to force the Devil to be a hostess too, she could understand the fear Reficul displayed. Still, it was better to face it head-on as Etihw had suggested to her on the daytrip rather than flee from it. "Macarona is staying and that's it. You keep whining over not being able to handle having her around without even trying to get along. It will help if you just be yourself and behave without making a fuss over her presence. You know it will only make her mad if you make a mistake that upsets her and then go on to infuriate her. Last time it was you breaking her cellphone; the time before that, you tried to hurt Etihw simply because she teased you lightheartedly; and the time prior to that, you trespassed on public property during her work hours when nobody was allowed on the premises at that time, even if it was to help her."

"Why don't you just add this weekend to the list?" the Devil inquired in defeat. "Make the weekend an entire object, or split it into different incidents." She looked up pleadingly, staring into Sin's eyes like a helpless child afraid of a bully. "P-please, Sin, I-I really can't do this."

"You can and you will, Refi," Sin commented, refusing to capitulate. "I'm sorry, Refi, but only you are causing this much grief over an angel who terrifies you simply because of your actions towards her. I don't know how else to say it other than that. My choice of words is blunt; although I wish I could be a little gentler on this subject, I see no other way of explaining this to you. It will be fine if you just put your mind to it and act properly while expressing yourself to her; that lesson you learned at the museum she worked at part time should've taught you that much at least."

"B-but…" Reficul protested timidly.

"I'm sorry, Refi, but I've made my decision to invite her over for the weekend. The two of us are good friends, and I hope you will behave appropriately around her instead of acting scared. She's not coming to frighten you, so everything should go smoothly if you act accordingly." With that said, Sin finished her orange juice and rinsed the glass out before it went in the dishwasher. "I want to have a good time this weekend, Refi. I hope you do too. Now let's go to the foyer to allow Rane and Macarona in; it's almost three thirty and Rane said they'd be here by now when she sent me a text message before." Reficul swallowed heavily and shivered fearfully, wondering if it was truly possible for her to avoid the angel entirely while still making Sin happy. She didn't get up at that moment because she was thinking of what to do, so the Devil was startled when Sin sighed in exasperation with a hand to her forehead because Reficul wasn't going with her.

"A-ah, s-sorry, I-I was—"

"It's fine, Refi, just come along," the snake demon said and led the Devil through a corridor and across a threshold into a magnificent foyer with two chandeliers hanging up top. A large carpet of three different shades of red blanketed the birch wood floor which went well with the gray walls of big stone bricks that were decorated with stained glass windows and a variety of tapestries. Even the lights made into authentic looking torches brightened the area, and the whole place was cleaned to perfection. The painting of a castle with a crescent moon over the mountain range where it was located resided in the center of the room up against a wall in between two staircases leading up to the second floor. Two candle stands were set up by it and also had the authentic bulbs in them too, plus a couple tables in front of the portrait displayed several unique items like trophies and the few ceremonial treasures protected by glass so they didn't get swiped by would-be thieves.

Standing in the center of the area with Sin while several maids and butlers walked about to finish some of their other duties, Reficul shuddered as she observed the oak wood doors, the main entrance of their keep. Her breathing was pretty heavy and she turned pale out of terror; even her heart was racing as she fiddled with the red tie in her business attire.

"You look fine, Refi," Sin murmured softly with a small smile as she closed her eyes while adjusting the tie so the Devil wouldn't mess it up. She had spoken up to an unspoken question that Reficul didn't utter, though she comprehended how Sin was able to understand her body language. "Just stay calm and collected. Everything's going to be just fine as long as you make the effort."

"I-I d-don't think I-I feel too well…" the Devil whimpered softly, still attempting to avoid seeing Macarona. "W-would it be alright if I-I go lie down for a while?"

Sin felt her temple for a temperature. "You don't have a fever, plus you've had a checkup. Don't you remember going to the doctor's office yesterday before heading to work? Don't tell me you're just trying to get out of this, Refi. Please, give it your best and enjoy the weekend, okay? It would be nice if you could at least try to entertain our guests rather than your fears."

"U-um, c-can I-I at least watch from above?"

"No, Refi, you and I are the hosts," the snake demon politely rejected the Devil's question. "We need to greet our guests cordially and welcome them to our humble abode."

It seemed there was no getting out of this situation. Reficul had to face Macarona. "T-then can I-I stay close to you?" she asked next, hoping Sin would at least provide that much comfort.

The snake demon smiled sweetly. "If it makes you feel better, then yes," she responded as she smoothed a few wrinkles out of her white dress while adjusting the green cape-like shawl and the white flowers on her dress and in her hair. "You may hold my arm if you wish."

"T-thank you, Sin…" Reficul whispered softly and gently embraced Sin's left arm in both hands while also drawing closer to her out of fear and shyness. "Y-you'll do the talking, right?"

"You have to share that responsibility with me, Refi. You can't just stay silent. Remember, just stay calm and be yourself. Macarona will not be upset with you if you don't anger her."

Right, avoid provoking the angel's ire. As if that was easy.

Although that advice would've helped, Reficul felt she was a fool for failing despite trying to fulfill her role. Yes, she was a powerful Devil capable of anything she could handle. She was a stoic individual unafraid of anything beneath her, or above her for that matter. Reficul always kept a cool head in any situation, so the weekend really should've been alright.

Then again, Macarona was coming over and there wasn't anything Reficul could do about it. She just knew something was going to happen; she was going to screw up badly and enrage the angel who would then start applying venom in her voice while screaming at her. The poor Devil's nerves were shaken to the core when she first experienced the seething rage Macarona exhibited a while back when she barged into the museum without giving a reason why. If she gave one to her, Reficul wouldn't be terrified of Macarona. That being said, there wasn't anybody else who scared her more than Macarona. It was rather humiliating how a powerful Devil like her was horrified by somebody who appeared to be insignificant, yet was a warrior due to having fought against Ivlis to help defeat that airhead. With a small sigh, Reficul made sure to keep breathing deeply so she could eventually settle down and behave for Sin. She'd do anything for her family.

Although she wished for her fear of Macarona to remain a secret only to her own family in this world, word got out among the servants and they gradually began to gossip about it. They did laugh a little at her misfortune which gravely embarrassed her unlike anything else they pointed at her. Thankfully the snake demon garnered their vows of silence on the topic so nobody would say anything to the other guests. Keeping mum on that unpleasant thought was best since it would help Reficul stay sane just enough to make an effort at being a hostess unless…Reficul shuddered when she began wondering if Macarona was going to bring it up, but Sin reassured her the angel wasn't.

"Oh, I'm so excited, Refi!" she exclaimed upon catching sight of a horse drawn carriage at the gate outside when she saw it advance through the window. "This will be a great get-together!"

"U-uh, y-yeah, s-sure…" the Devil stuttered nervously and swallowed heavily.

"Don't sound so demure now, Refi," Sin encouraged her to be brave. "Give it a chance and have fun. What's the worst that could happen? The weather's fine and the guests are all coming. I know Lil and Rosaliya won't be here for another hour or so, but we can wait for their arrival. Rane and Macarona must be a little tired from the preparations and their journey. Rane lives close to us as you know, but Macarona's world is much further away. In any case, we must let them relax for a spell so we can introduce Macarona to Rosaliya and Lil. All will go well if you let it flow."

"R-right…" Reficul tried her hardest to agree with Sin in spite of herself. The Devil wanted to make her happy by putting her best efforts into behaving like the proper lady she was, though it was difficult considering the nature of how scary Macarona could be when enraged. She was within a tough spot between a rock and a hard place, feeling trapped by her desire to please Sin and their angelic guest and her fears of invoking their ire against her. Granted, the snake demon didn't scare Reficul whereas Macarona did, but the Devil would feel extremely guilty for upsetting Sin.

The sound of the doorknobs being turned on the other side alarmed her since Reficul knew her greatest fear was going to step through that door by crossing the threshold. Once she did, there was no escaping her for the next few days because Macarona would be there to stay—temporarily, of course, but still present in their home all the same. All she could do now was buck up and do as Sin requested by steeling herself for the days to come, hoping nothing bad would happen.

They watched the doors open as the two maids who were waiting on the patio porch outside pushed them forward to let the girls enter. "Ladies Rane and Macarona arrived," one announced.

"Hello, girls, it's so nice to see you!" Sin slithered forward and greeted them amiably with a smile, leaving the spot Reficul also stood at to hide behind the snake demon.

"Good day, Sin, nice to see you too," Macarona returned the greeting while curtsying, the maids collecting their coats and other things for them. "It's been a while since we last met, a couple months back if I recall correctly. How have you three been? Things are well, I hope."

"Certainly, we're all doing well. I'm glad you could make it, Macarona," Sin replied as she bowed. "You have my condolences regarding your friend's older sister. I hope she's well and will make a full recovery. Whatever happened to her must've been awful, but thankfully she's back in good hands as whatever ailments or pain she accrued while missing are healing."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to tell Rawberry you send your regards for her and Raspbel." With her eyes open, she caught sight of the Devil standing back where Sin had left her and closed them again to smile. "Good day to you as well, Ms. Reficul. I trust you're also fine as can be." Although her greeting was pleasant, Reficul squeaked somewhat in fear when the angel noticed her. She had been hoping she could get away unseen despite obviously being out in the open. Macarona clearly saw her plain as day because Reficul wasn't invisible even though she desperately wished she was so she could spare herself the fearful torment of having to interact with the girl.

Unsure of what to say or how to even answer that declarative inquiry, Reficul shivered and swallowed heavily before attempting to speak up. "U-um, s-sure, just f-fine…" she murmured, the terror getting to her as she broke out in a cold sweat she hoped the others wouldn't notice.

"Are you sure you're fine, Reficul?" Rane asked in concern, worried the Devil might have some kind of panic attack or something. "It doesn't have to do with issues between you two, right?"

Reficul's eyes widened in shock and she lost whatever little bit of composure she retained up to now. The spider demon was referring to the problems she caused which angered Macarona! How did she know about that?! "Y-you told her?!" she exclaimed in surprise, directing the question at Sin. "Y-you t-told Rane all about t-that?!" If she'd known she was wrong, she wouldn't even be mistrusting her poor judgment of what the snake demon did and didn't say to Rane.

"No, I've not brought that up as you requested, apart from mentioning you both have hit a rough patch in your interactions" Sin reassured her and turned to the angel. "Unless you told Rane of it, Macarona? You've brought over that manuscript you've been working on, correct?"

"Yes, I promised to show you last time we saw each other," Macarona nodded to affirm it. "I even showed it to Rane when she mentioned the matters pertaining to how we interact to clarify the subject." Stepping over to the maid who held her suitcases, the young angel opened one to pull out the manuscript they were referring to and handed it to Sin. "Here it is; that's all I've completed so far. You're in it too, Ms. Reficul, in several places in fact since Mors insisted I include them as lessons on how to behave properly which he said would remind you to stay stoically dignified. I'd have abstained from writing it, but he said I shouldn't exclude anything that happened on the job."

Reficul's jaw hung agape. Her own son asked Macarona to keep those parts in?!

"I figured Mors would've said something like that," Sin sighed. "I'll speak to him about it when he comes back from visiting Glasses. You can remove those parts, right, Macarona?"

Macarona nodded. "Sure, I can do that if it makes Ms. Reficul comfortable keeping it all a secret from others. I can keep it hidden in my things and not mention it at all this weekend."

"Oh, thank you, Macarona, Refi sincerely appreciates it, don't you Refi?" the snake demon remarked with a smile and turned towards the Devil. "See, Refi, she's such a sweet girl."

Yet Reficul didn't respond because the shock of discovering that even Mors would want a hand in embarrassing her through fright blew her mind. "I-I…I-I…" she muttered softly, trying to comprehend just why her son wanted Macarona to write in the bits about her getting yelled at. Was it due to something she said or did to the boy? Was it some kind of bad joke on his part? Did Mors actually seek to help her via the inclusion of Macarona's ire towards her as the angel said? Though that last one might've been the case since she didn't want to doubt her son's intentions, the notion had just the exact opposite effect. Reficul was actually shivering more at this point, as her breathing became heavier. She felt somewhat lightheaded and dizzy, growing a bit faint from shock.

Thankfully Sin—and the girls and servants too—could see her discomfort and slithered up to her to place a hand on the Devil's shoulder for comfort. "Tell you what, Refi; why don't you go into the parlor now for a breather, okay? I'll show Macarona and Rane to Rane's old room for now while you go get yourself a bit of rest and a glass of refreshing water to calm your nerves, alright? We'll be there to join you in a bit, and we'll all drop the subject entirely to enjoy the afternoon."

"S-sure, f-fine, t-thank you, Sin," Reficul murmured and walked off to calm down as each step she took brought her away from Macarona. Despite the fact it was a temporary respite, Reficul was grateful for it since she needed time alone to soothe her nerves via a break from Macarona.

Having watched her leave to make sure Reficul was okay while a maid followed her into a corridor towards the parlor, Sin shut her eyes and smiled as she averted her attention back to Rane and Macarona. "Well, girls, just follow me. I'll show you to Rane's old room back when she lived with us. It still looks the same as when you chose to live on your own a few years ago."

"Thanks, Sin, though I'm afraid Macarona might need a separate room. Rosaliya promised to show me a few tricks with the sewing machine in there tonight when she called me before," the spider demon explained while the angel nodded in consent with the idea.

"I'm fine with that, so any room should be good," she commented as Sin smiled.

"Certainly, right this way, ladies. You can take the room across from Rane, Macarona. It's got two beds inside and so does Rane's, so Rosaliya will share her room while Lil joins you. They should be here soon in about an hour or less, so I'll introduce you to them when they arrive. I shall also go over what we'll be doing this weekend; we won't be indoors all the time, and it'll be fun."

"Thank you, I'm looking forward to it," Macarona said, smiling as she and Rane followed the snake demon upstairs towards a wing of the keep where the bedrooms were located.

…

"These chips are so delicious! I'd love for this brand to be imported into our world with an experienced workforce of cooks who can bake such fine snacks! Here, you both can have a few!"

"No thank you. I do not eat junk food. You know I'm a vegan, Lil."

"Come on, Rosaliya, you just have to try them! Take some, I don't mind!" the demon with muted pink hair said, her red eyes boring into the otherworldly Devil as she handed out the bag of chips out to her. Crumbs fell upon her black and dark violet dress, and some could even be seen in the fabric of her gray collar. "Going once, going twice!" she giggled and shut her eyes, crunching down on several more she shoved into her mouth and chewed before swallowing. "Mm, tasty!"

"You have such terrible manners and eating habits, Lil. For somebody who's the wife of a Devil, you're not acting like the proper lady you're supposed to be. Know your place."

"But they're so good! Good eats were one of my dreams while young, and I'm savoring as much as I can!" Lil protested and jutted her finger in the air, eyes still closed as she addressed her companion in an informal tone. She stuffed herself with more chips and threw the bag away since she had finished it just now. "Ah, those were some amazing chips! You really should've ate some!"

"Keep eating like that and you'll spoil your dinner and gain weight," Rosaliya Phantomrose commented, her short stature being a contrast to her mature personality. Her dress was like that of a pink rose with the main section being a darker shade than the light pink skirt, just like the rest of her clothes including her tights, heels, and the ribbon on the back. Even her horns and wings were pink as well along with her wavy hair which flowed down to her waist and had fringe bangs. Only her orange, magenta eyes were a different color as was the collar of her dress and the petticoat she wore with the ends of her sleeves—all three of these clothing articles were white—plus Rosaliya's red bow added a bit of variety to her attire as well. Taking a sip of her tea, the Devil turned to Lil's companion and blinked at her, pondering what reason she could have for coming here. "Permission to direct an inquiry towards you, Your Majesty?" she asked to voice that thought.

"Permission granted," the other demon granted her request.

"Might I ask as to why you're attending as well? With all due respect, invitations were sent out to all the guests and I am curious if you've received one too," Rosaliya asked and then provided a short explanation why she posed that question. "If not, would this happen to be official business or a surprise visit of sorts as a brief vacation away from work? Your presence at an event like this is most certainly welcome, if a bit enigmatic in my opinion I might add."

"She heard about it from me," Lil responded for her, winking at the Devil. "It's not official business, but you could call it a vacation if you'd like. She's actually curious about what our little get-togethers are like, hence why she showed up and commanded me to be her guide. Not everyone gets such a prestigious opportunity to meet her and walk alongside her, you know? I'm sure Rane would love to meet her; it'd be a great opportunity for her to befriend more aristocratic royalty."

"Just be sure to handle my luggage with care, Lil," her companion instructed blandly while turning to gaze at the dreary scenery out the window as the rain kept pouring.

"What am I, your pack mule?" the demon asked in mock anger even though she didn't take much offence from the remark. "Jeez, you could sound grateful for my aid. I'm taking the time to escort you to Sin's joint and show you the fun we have, so you should be thanking me. I am not a damned slave to your whims for I am a proper lady educated in the finest social arts."

"And yet you've learned nothing of that outlook, or even attempt to comprehend the duties and responsibilities you're to be performing as Satanick's wife," Rosaliya uttered critically.

"Hey, I've had a shitty upbringing for your information, so don't patronize me for wanting to enjoy my regal status and have fun!" Lil retorted back, puffing her chest out to pout and turning her head up at the ceiling of their cabin on the train with her eyes shut.

"If it was that bad, you could've at least improved your lifestyle," Rosaliya remarked once more before she decided to change the subject, sensing the demon was going to bicker over a topic pertaining to her past and how that was justification for being an aristocrat with no sense of dignity. "Anyway, back to the topic of this weekend. Sin said in her letter that we'll all be heading into the city for a bit of shopping tomorrow, and Sunday will be a trip to the town Rane lives in. I've called Rane about showing her a few techniques from my world about sewing, so I'll be helping her with that as well. However, I would also like to meet this angel Sin holds in high regards."

"An angel in an underworld of demons?" Lil's companion murmured, glancing to Rosaliya out of the corner of her eye. "Sin has invited an angel to partake in your activities?" Her voice was critical of this point as she sounded suspicious as to why an enemy of demons would be present.

"Yep, a nice girl named Macarona!" Lil attempted to put her at ease. "She comes from the Gray Garden, the world Kcalb watches over with his Goddess. I wonder what she's like."

"Ah, that world," the other demon commented, becoming slightly curious now. "Reficul's report on that invasion she helped stop had me wondering why she'd assist a turncoat. I know she commented that she liked the peaceful state of affairs there, though there must be more to it."

"Hey, you didn't really care when Kcalb decided it was better for him to leave you," came a remark from Lil as something of a counterpoint. "He explained himself well when saying why he gave up his status in favor of peace and you just let him resign without doing anything."

"That was his choice, and he thought of it carefully before leaving my service. I am not too bothered by his resignation so much as I can't abide traitors. His betrayal was not too serious since Satanick is on relatively good terms with his God at times, so I allowed him to depart. Now there's talk from both of you regarding an angel from his world who Sin invited. I wish to know why she's allowed an angel into her world to begin with when Reficul is enemies with this world's Goddess."

"Hey, beats me," Lil shrugged. "I don't care, but she must be special if Sin likes her."

"Indeed," Rosaliya agreed. "I suggest you inquire about this angel to find out."

"Yes…I'll decide if this angel truly is unique and worthy of time in our company."

…

 **Things are really starting to kick off now. Will Macarona be accepted into the fold of Sin's friends from other underworlds, or is she going to get kicked out? Stay tuned for more.**

 **Also, there is a matter pertaining to the witches which I thought of while editing this. There are a handful of named witches in the Mogeko universe, yet many of them belong to a single world, that being the witch world. The only witches who belong to more than one world are Wadanohara (and Meikai) of the Sea Kingdom and Chlomaki of Satanick's world. I have checked the wikia to see if any of the other witches were in other worlds too, though it merely places them in the witch world alone. That's why I'm examining their character portraits to see which world they would fit in based on their design. Tuchikure, for example, looks like a potential resident of Reficul's underworld in my opinion as the weather there is bad and I'm guessing there are probably some regions that correspond to her character. It's speculation, though I would like to see what you think of the idea. I've already got some good locations in mind for several of the other witches, so feel free to share your thoughts on this.**


	3. Chapter Three: First Impressions

"Mm, this is such good tea, Sin," Macarona complimented the snake demon after taking a sip of the honey tea she had prepared for the four of them. "The flavor of this blend stands out and tastes exquisite. Would this happen to be a brand from your underworld, or another world?"

"It comes from Rosaliya's world and is produced only by the best beekeepers there. There are several vineyards, wineries, and plantations there," Sin explained with a smile. "This tea was made by a plantation founded for the purpose of producing it and similar commodities made from honey and with it. The teashop there is a pretty little place and beans are handled with the utmost care, plus the plantation is a commercial enterprise. Almost everything is exported to other worlds, save for some ingredients used to produce tea on the premises." Taking a sip of her own honey tea, she then addressed Macarona again. Thanks for the compliment, Macarona; Rosaliya will also be grateful as well to hear praise for a favorite product of hers from her world."

"I'll tell her when she arrives," the young angel said while sipping the tea. "There are some plantations in my world as well, though they only produce ingredients for tea and coffee. The Gray Garden doesn't develop any alcoholic beverages and my world doesn't want any from commercial trade either. Any items associated with drugs and alcohol are not allowed since we care about the health care and want to avoid consequences of what might happen if such items are legalized there. It's a perspective that has raised some eyebrows since some visitors to our world like traders along with tourists come from worlds that do use those products, but they respect our decision to abstain from selling and producing the items in question." She sighed peacefully, savoring the tea.

"Sounds like your world has some strict standards that enforce the peace," Rane remarked to advance the conversation so she could learn a bit more about the Gray Garden. "Are the citizens alright with the decisions your Goddess and Devil made to ensure safe harmony there?"

"They're in full agreement one hundred percent," Macarona affirmed for her with a nod of her head as she averted her attention to the spider demon sitting beside her. "Our world might seem like a perfect paradise to some places. We're content with our lives and governance is quite simple and easygoing. There aren't many laws or rules to follow because of our peaceful nature, and even those are easy to comprehend. Furthermore, the economy is quite strong and healthy because there is plenty of revenue produced, and Miss Etihw and Mr. Kcalb always use their magic to ensure the economy stays in top shape by producing more gold coins through magic. The culture is intriguing for a world where everything is simple, though we're happy with our lifestyle the way it is."

"Kcalb has mentioned s-something about the different regions in your world as well when I-I visited him once," Reficul stated, attempting to remain calm instead of getting scared. She was grateful to Sin for sitting next to her because the snake demon's presence close beside her managed to soothe her nerves. However, she still spoke with a slight stutter since she couldn't help but still feel nervous around Macarona. The Devil hadn't provoked the angel's ire yet, so she wanted to be careful by keeping it that way. Thankfully they hadn't brought up their interaction in the museum Macarona worked part time at, though her comment was still a reference to her visit then. "F-from what I-I've seen so far, there appears to be a wasteland with several forests."

"I've hiked through a couple forests as a member of the girl scouts," Macarona said as she looked at her, "though my favorite was one I've been to at the time of Ivlis' invasion. In my world there is a particular region where three forests are located right next to one another. They're called Daybreak Forest, Midday Forest, and Evening Forest, and they're all joined together. That's one of the landmarks in my world because the sky reflects which of the forests one is in. I went there with my friends to investigate signs of otherworldly forces and look for suspicious individuals, but we were captured by Ivlis' demons and brought to his prison where Ms. Reficul later saved us."

"Aw, that was so nice of you, Refi," Sin praised the Devil and shut her eyes, smiling at her. "Helping a group of nice young ladies out when they needed aid. Thanks to you, we're now friends with people from yet another world." She cocked her head to the side and chuckled happily.

"W-well, I-I couldn't let that airhead run amok s-stealing power. H-he might've come after our world next," Reficul commented modestly, acting humble in front of the others. "Our interests were also in jeopardy, s-so I-I felt our worlds s-shared a common foe in the airhead, hence why an effort t-to collaborate in his defeat was necessary t-to ensure the safety of both our worlds."

"Oh, don't be so bashful, Refi," Sin praised her decision to offer her support to Macarona's world. "I knew you liked it a lot. You've always been saying it's such a tranquil paradise that other worlds should emulate even if the heavens and underworlds were still in conflict with one another."

"T-true, I-I shan't deny that," Reficul murmured in agreement, sipping her tea when a small sound coming from Macarona's pocket caught everyone's attention. The young angel removed her cellphone and checked it for any messages, finding one from her father.

"Sorry, that would be my father," Macarona said with a sheepish smile, closing her eyes to assure them it was nothing serious. "He and my mother live in another town. I just received a text message from him asking if I would tell the rest of my family about my time here at the next family reunion." With that said, she quickly responded by simply typing an affirmative reply and put the cellphone away. "My apologies, my parents told me to keep it on vibrate at all times in case they've got to contact me regarding anything urgent that might also require my attention."

"Oh, that's quite alright, dearie, we understand," Sin reassured her it was fine with a smile when Rane suddenly coughed unexpectedly which made the others glance at her.

"S-sorry," she also apologized sheepishly and chuckled despite turning slightly pale. "Must have gone down a little funny." She was referring to a sip of tea she'd taken when they all heard a knock at the door indicating the other guests had arrived. Quickly standing up while Sin also rose with Reficul, the spider demon quickly addressed the snake demon before they went away. "U-uh, would it be alright if I just use the bathroom to wash my hands, please?"

Sin nodded and smiled sweetly. "Sure, dear, you may," she answered and quickly ushered the Devil off ahead of her before turning back to Macarona as Rane also left too. "Sorry about that, Macarona, but could I ask you to refrain from bringing up familial matters around Rane? It's kind of a touchy subject with her and she gets uncomfortable when it's brought up. You do not mind if we just drop the subject for her, right?" the snake demon asked as Macarona nodded. "Thank you, Macarona, Rane will appreciate it," Sin spoke up again and began to leave, heading for a door that Reficul walked through where the Devil met up with some of the servants. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to be following Refi so I can greet our other guests since they've arrived."

"Sure, I don't mind. If it's difficult for her to discuss, I'll gladly stay mum if it'll help her," the young angel said to accommodate the spider demon by abstaining from further dialogue about her family. She set her finished tea on the table and stood up. "May I go apologize to her?"

"Of course, Macarona, if it'll help you can," Sin remarked before heading off to the lobby. "I'll just be greeting Lil and Rosaliya out in the lobby. You both can come right over to see them once Rane's finished. She'll be in the bathroom closest to the parlor." Saying so, she directed one of the maids over to her and requested she lead the angel over there so Macarona wouldn't get lost. Following the maid into another hall, Macarona glanced around at the colorful tapestries and blinds hanging along the walls and windows with some landscape portraits of what she assumed had been vistas from this world and perhaps a few others like the ones Rosaliya and Lil were from. The floor was entirely birch wood like in the foyer, and the walls were made of the same stone bricks. Even the ceiling matched the floor because the keep was three stories high and the second floor was just above them. It sort of reminded her of Blancblack Castle and a few other structures she saw in the Gray Garden; some of them were ruins while others were forts that had been converted into social areas with towns constructed within and around the impressive structures.

"Here, we are, Miss Macarona," the demon maid turned to her and bowed in front of a door made of oak wood. "This is the bathroom Miss Rane came to. She should be out momentarily."

"Ah, thank you," Macarona returned the gesture as a sign of appreciation and waited in the corridor for the spider demon to emerge from within while the maid left. She stood by the opposite wall patiently, hands folded with her arms in front of her. The angel heard sounds of what might've been choked sobs mixed in with some sniffling, but a few minutes later a recovered Rane stepped out of the bathroom and sighed in relief, unaware Macarona was there until she saw her.

"O-oh, Macarona!" the spider demon squeaked somewhat, startled by her appearance there.

"Hey, Rane, everything okay?" the young angel asked as they started walking towards the foyer. "Sorry if mentioning my family upset you. Sin told me it's a tender subject for you, and I thought I should apologize for bringing it up. I won't speak of it again. Do you feel better now?"

Rane nodded and smiled sheepishly. "O-oh, of course, Macarona, I don't blame you. True, it's not something I want to talk about, but you've only just met me today and this is the first time you've come to our world. It's only natural you'd know nothing about us on the first day, but thank you, I do feel better. Don't worry about me, I'll fine; Lil and Rosaliya should be here by now. Let's go greet them. I bet Lil's going to like you on first sight, though Rosaliya might want to know you first since angels are kind of a touchy subject with her as my family is to me."

"Sure, alright, that's fine; I'm okay with being grilled if it'll help her get used to me." With that said, the two of them made their way past some of the other servants towards the foyer where they found Reficul and Sin with the other two guests who had shown up. Rane immediately smiled and sauntered over so one of them, a demon with muted pink hair and red eyes, could embrace her in a hug. "Lil, Rosaliya! It's good to see you both again. It's been a while."

"Oh, Rane, my adorable little arachnid girl! How are things going?!" Lil remarked as she happily twirled around with the spider demon in her arms. "My, you've grown just a bit taller since we last saw each other! Living on your own and already growing into an independent lady! Times have changed since they go by so fast! It's been months since our last get-together!"

"Shimmer down and try not to get too excited now, Lil," Rosaliya commented blandly.

"But it's been so long, Rosaliya!" the demon whose horns seemed to be similar to Reficul's protested playfully, her euphoric style of joy lifting spirits and bringing smiles to faces all around. She pranced towards Sin and got her in on the hug as well which the snake demon eagerly returned. "I haven't seen these girls in a while. Pipe down yourself and let me enjoy their company!"

"Yes, it's nice to see you too, Lil," Sin greeted her and chuckled, happy they were here.

"Yes, yes, glad to have you over," Reficul muttered sarcastically, highly critical of Lil and her idea of fun. She would've demanded her to release the snake and spider demons from her hug, but the Devil caught Macarona stepping forward to stand beside her out of the corner of her eyes. Reficul turned pale and failed to stifle a small squeak of fear since the angel's presence directly by hers was enough to give her a bad scare and make her stumble to the side as a means of escape. It only made Macarona deadpan, an expression which included a raised eyebrow towards the Devil. The angel would've inquired suspiciously about what Reficul muttered under her breath even if a certain amount of venom wasn't applied, though that look from her was enough to subdue her. Yet Macarona hardly had a chance to even consider raising the issue aloud since Lil already saw her.

"Oh my, my, my, an angel among the demons and Devils!" the demon murmured while an examination of the angel in question was in place. She had undertaken it with such excitement that it made Macarona lean back more for personal space than out of fear. The young angel displayed no signs of fear, however, for she willingly subjected herself to scrutiny as the lady looked at her. "You must be Macarona, the angel Sin wrote about in her invitation! I just love your outfit, it looks positively adorable!" Lil exclaimed to compliment the girl on her appearance. "And such locks of brown hair! Cute eyes and a sweet smile to boot!" She clapped her hands as Macarona giggled.

"Why, thank you for saying so!" the angel commented, feeling slightly embarrassed for the attention being foisted onto her. It made her feel as if she was some kind of exotic item or creature on display in a museum or someplace similar, though the demon spectator showed no hostility. "I might not look like much at first glance, though first impressions can be kind of deceiving because I'm pretty strong." Although Macarona didn't mean to brag about herself since she felt it was rude towards others as it could've belittled them, she thought a minor remark about herself would be an appropriate thing to say just to tell Lil and Rosaliya something about herself. Apparently it worked on the demon by her since the lady playfully seized her from behind in a big hug while examining her. The angel welcomed the gesture and laughed with the demon, already taking a liking to her.

"Aw, such an adorable angel!" Lil laughed and cooed happily. "We may have just met, but I can already tell we'll be best friends forever!" She continued to partake in the delight when only moments later a realization came to her and she lightly knocked her head with a fist and closed her eyes. "Oops, silly me, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Lil, and the small fry over there is Rosaliya Phantomrose!" Lil giggled with a hand to her mouth as she watched the other Devil glare at her in annoyance, obviously finding pleasure in the lighthearted teasing.

"I am a Devil, you know," Rosaliya spat out rhetorically, kind of reminding the angel about Froze and Dialo since that was the impression she felt emanating from this Devil. "You should be showing your superiors and hostess' the respect they deserve, Lil. As the wife of a Devil yourself, you're to maintain the proper image of an aristocrat of your status instead of acting like a child."

"Quit trying to reverse our ages!" Lil teased her, giving Macarona the impression that she was like Yosafire and sort of like Rawberry. All they needed was a quiet girl and they would have somebody who felt reminiscent of Chelan, though perhaps the other angel was sort similar to Sin. They did express the same gentle demeanor which helped Macarona feel right at home among the demons and Devils here because they really did remind her of her other friends in the Gray Garden. "Perhaps you should be the one acting your age, Rosaliya," Lil continued her playful banter while the angel in her arms giggled, glad to be a part of another social circle of friends like hers.

"I am," the Devil countered, crossing her arms while walking towards Macarona to look at her too. "You forget how age works in different worlds and with different species of demons. I'm nearing five hundred years old in my world due to my species, whereas you have yet to even reach a second century in yours, Lil. By that logic I'm older than you, so your point is invalid and null due to that flaw in your thinking." The demon opened her mouth to try and make a counterpoint, though Rosaliya figured out what she was going to say. "Yes, we're in a different world, but your argument doesn't hold any water than it does in your own world and mine, again due to species."

"Pfff, whatever you say, old crone," the demon teased her yet again to irritate the Devil. "I think it's time for the hag to visit the grandchildren, do you, Macarona?"

"I wouldn't call her old," Macarona commented to try and alleviate any anger Rosaliya felt towards Lil, though she also tried to remain neutral in this playful bickering. "Though considering how old she may be, I wouldn't be surprised if she does have descendants." Quickly looking over to Rane, she flashed the spider demon an apologetic smile which Rane understood and forgave. It was fairly obvious that she was struggling to control herself in spite of the topic, though Sin hugged her to give Rane comfort and rested her head on the spider demon's head as an affectionate gesture.

"I do not," Rosaliya clarified for her, "I have yet to reach an age suitable for marriage, plus it's a custom in my world for the spirits and elementals to approve of one's suitor first. Though let us not discuss the subject of family in Rane's presence." She looked at the spider demon and gave her a nod of understanding. "I expect you to apologize for that, Lil, since you did bring it up." she commented as the demon in question smiled sheepishly and stepped away to bow before Rane and apologize while Rosaliya addressed Macarona. "So, you are Macarona, I take it?"

"Yes, I am her. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rosaliya," Macarona said and closed her eyes as she curtsied before the Devil. "You look well, I really like your dress. It looks so pretty."

Rosaliya displayed a soft smile, getting a vibe that this angel wasn't like him. It was earlier than she expected, but she could tell that Macarona was a sweet girl who respected her elders and social superiors. She liked that quality in her as it a favorite trait of hers when interacting with any individuals who were on a lower rung of the social ladder in her world. "Why thank you, I've had it duly prepared for this weekend. As Sin's guest from another world, I feel it is important to make a firm impression on behalf of myself and my world, hence why I must look my best," she said as she looked over at Sin and bowed her head in respect and appreciation of the hostess.

"Thank you, Rosaliya," Sin said gratefully, "but it's not really necessary here since I don't mind. Our friendship is more important, and formalities are not required when it's just us spending time together, hanging out as friends, but I do appreciate your concern and attention to formalities."

"Nevertheless, I insist on maintaining the image of the regal status I belong to and also the world in which I grew up in," Rosaliya commented to her and went back to addressing Macarona. "I have heard of your world, it sounds like a pleasant place similar to my own Flower World. I've no angels in my world anymore, though I am quite fond of how your people managed to put aside their conflict with demons peacefully. I too desire peace, but it's a shame the angels of my world's heaven did not establish harmony in my own world as yours did, Macarona. Nonetheless, my world is now at peace like yours, if only a paradise for demons and the aforementioned elementals along with the spirits." The Devil walked around Macarona to examine her appearance. "At first glance, I see you are an ordinary individual; nothing too unique, but that is not a failing because you have yet to distinguish yourself in some way. However, I can also tell you are quite observant and you're also understanding of others since you showed an awareness of Rane's issue, perhaps because she or Sin told you. In any case, I admire your respect for it; few individuals I met in other worlds did show consideration for the feelings of others, and I'm glad to see you're one of them."

"Thank you, Miss Rosaliya," Macarona bowed her head in thanks as the Devil held up her hand with her eyes shut as she began to speak to the angel once again with a small smile.

"Rosaliya will do. As I am still a guest, I must also respect my hostess' wishes in addition to my impression. If Sin requests for it to be an informal get-together, you may drop formalities."

"Sure, alright," Macarona agreed and began to ask her about the angels in her world along with what her Flower World was like when Rosaliya politely interjected again.

"Let us save your inquiries about us and our worlds for dinner. The three of us must unpack our things and get to our rooms first," she remarked and cast a hard glare at Lil. "Lil, have you not left her out in the cold rain long enough? I think it's high time you end this foolish charade so she can be admitted in at once. Hopefully she has not caught cold being out there for so long."

"Wait, there's somebody else here?" Reficul inquired, wondering who it was as she looked at the snake demon. "Sin, I thought you haven't invited anyone else for the weekend."

"I did not," Sin confirmed her own confusion at the prospect of someone else coming. "I've only invited them," she held her arms out to indicate she was referring to the others. "Unless it's a surprise guest you brought along, Lil. I'm assuming she's from your world, isn't she?"

"That's right, line up everybody!" Lil exclaimed as she directed Rane and Sin to stand next to one another by the center while everyone else followed the precedent with Macarona by Sin and Rosaliya with Reficul next to Rane. With their formation settled, Lil turned to the two maids whom she had instructed to open the door on cue when she gave the signal. "Attention, everyone, I shall now announce the arrival of our surprise guest! Many of you learned of her, few met her in person!" she announced fervently with her back turned to the others temporarily so she could saunter toward the entrance before turning back. "Hers is a name known to all demons throughout all underworlds! She is our most revered demon, the grandest of gals to ever live! To an imaginary drum roll and a twenty-one gun salute—also imaginary, I should add, because I couldn't acquire either in time!"

"Get on with it for her sake, Lil," Rosaliya spoke up critically. "Let her in, now." Her sense of urgency concerning this matter and who the surprise guest was garnered a sigh from Lil.

"I'm getting there, okay?"

"Now." The word was uttered from Rosaliya's lips with more emphasis this time.

"Okay, okay, fine, jeez, would it kill you to be patient?" Lil asked, somewhat irritated with the Devil for killing the mood when said Devil addressed her again in another critical tone of voice.

"Her patience must've run out by now. Let her in now, otherwise I'll do it for her myself."

"Alright, alright, I'm getting there," Lil huffed in frustration. "But very well." She held her right arm out to present the surprise guest. "Ladies, I give you the one, the only, Queen of all these underworlds we inhabit!" The doors started to open as everyone in the line kneeled before the only individual who would've garnered such attention. Even Macarona kneeled too since she was aware of how to act before royalty because it was a custom she was familiar with from reading books on the topic. "From my own world, I present to you all Her Majesty, Queen GriRea! In person and in the flesh!" She began to hop about where she stood several times, applauding and cheering until a smack upside her head from the Queen's hand fan dampened her excitement.

"Enough of this tomfoolery, Lil," Her Majesty ordered critically in a strict tone, narrowing her gaze at the demon who had winced in slight pain and looked at the Queen sheepishly. "You've kept me waiting long enough to announce my presence. I am to be allowed inside right away rather than be forced to linger out when and where the weather is poor. Is that clear, Lil?"

"You were under the roof of the porch, not on the veranda directly above it," Lil stated for a bit of clarification and giggled sheepishly. "You're not going to melt away into nothing or freeze to death, so you can at least make your grand entrance in style. You should be grateful to me."

"Do not ask for handouts, I shall not give any to you," GriRea commented and proceeded a few steps further into the foyer to analyze it, choosing to ignore her one demon entourage. "Hmm, it appears Reficul has good taste in décor. It seems she has chosen an abode befitting of her while decorating it in a manner befitting a Devil," she said to herself when Reficul spoke up in gratitude.

"Your praise is most welcome, Your Majesty. I greatly appreciate it."

"Ah, yes, Reficul, you are here as well. You may rise with Sin and Rosaliya," Her Majesty commanded and shut her eyes as the three of them did as they were instructed to while Sin slithered forward to greet the surprise guest and bow before her as a token of appreciation.

"Welcome to our humble abode, my Queen," she greeted her warmly. "My apologies for I have not invited you as well, though you are certainly free to join us this weekend. I shall have one of our guest rooms prepared at once. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait for it to be ready. I also want to apologize for the lack of grandeur in our guest rooms, for they are all rather plain compared to somebody of your most regal status, Your Majesty. At best, I hope the room is to your liking."

"I shall be here until we depart; the room is fine" GriRea said, the fan close to her mouth. Her dark purple hair swayed as she stepped by her once she bowed before Sin to show appreciation for the welcome. Even her ahoge also swayed, and her light purple-gray eyes glanced around the area as the servants began to kneel. The mermaid dress she wore slid along the carpet, its frills trailing at the bottom and brushing up against the skulls at the bottom of her gradient purple cloak which went well with the dark purple-gray of her dress. It also complimented the horned skulls nicely, and the cloak didn't have a hood attached on it which wasn't needed. Although flames were around the red-eyed skulls and frills, it wasn't a threat as it didn't set anything on fire as the flames were confined to the dress. "I only wish I could bring my dogs here as well, though it's unfortunate they're unable to travel to other worlds. That aside, I am most curious as to what you do together and scheduled a short break in my work so I might find out." Her eyes halted on the girls, and she stopped walking to beckon to Reficul and Sin. "Tell me, who is the spider demon amongst you?" she asked, adjusting the black and purple crown on her head so it didn't fall off.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Reficul bowed and addressed Rane. "You may stand, Rane. It would be best for you to introduce and ingratiate yourself to Her Majesty."

"But of course, Reficul," the spider demon remarked. She was excited to have met GriRea in person, though she managed to remain calm and collected in front of her as she sauntered toward Her Highness and placed her arms in front of her while bowing. "Good day, my Queen, I am most honored to finally meet you. My name is Rane, and I've been treated as a daughter to Reficul and Sin. They have taken such good care of me and I am eternally grateful to their aid, though I moved to a small town not too far from here a few years back with their help so I could also be independent on my own as well. Although I do still rely on them at times, I would also like to be reliable too.

"Ah, yes, Rane, I've heard of you from them," GriRea remarked. She didn't smile, but her tone indicated she was pleased to have met with the demon. "Reficul and Sin tell me you and Mors are close like real siblings. For someone of regular birth to earn high remarks from the Devil herself as well as her family, you appear to have earned them from what I know."

"Thank you, Your Highness, I am quite grateful for your praise," the spider demon beamed happily in excitement at having received a direct compliment from the Queen herself. "I may only be a seamstress like Sin, though I always endeavor to do my best at what I do."

"Sin has showed me some of the pieces you've made on your own and together with her," Her Majesty commented on those items. "You do exceptional work, Rane, and I would like to see more from the two of you. She has presented them to me as gifts, and I am fond of every fabric."

"I once again appreciate your remarks of praise, my Queen," Rane said as thanks while the ruler next turned her attention to Macarona. She slowly sauntered over to the angel and directed a glance of suspicion at her which Sin tried to soothe by speaking up, though GriRea addressed this girl before the snake demon could even hope to defend her friend from the Gray Garden.

"Speak, angel."

"Yes, Your Highness, what would you like me to say?" Macarona inquired politely as she wondered what GriRea would ask of her. Although Sin slithered over to try and introduce the angel to the Queen, Her Majesty held a hand up to politely quiet her so she could have a word with this angel before her. The snake demon felt sorry for not being able to help Macarona, but backed off.

"Begin with your name and your world, angel."

"I am Macarona of the Gray Garden, Your Majesty," she replied, still kneeling because she hadn't been told to rise yet. "How might I be of service to you for the duration of your stay?"

"Hmmm…" GriRea nodded, liking the angel's sense of her place amongst her presence. It was only one factor, however, so the girl still had to prove herself. "You belong to a world I've no reign over anymore, yet you prostrate yourself before me and request tasks if any. You've got good manners for someone so young, angel. Tell me, are you in direct service to Kcalb and are you here on his behalf?" she asked, to which Macarona responded right away to please her.

"I am not, though I do know him personally. I reside in Gray Village; Blancblack Castle is there. My home is in the village and he lives in the castle. Would you like me to deliver a message or a parcel to him? If so, I am at your command; however, I'm afraid I shall not be returning home right away for I was invited to spend the weekend here with Sin and her friends. All the same, your request shall be carried out with the utmost importance and I will head straight for the castle right away once I've returned to the Gray Garden, Your Majesty." It was a good response, and GriRea's opinion of her already began to increase just a little bit more, if not by a whole lot.

"I have nothing to say to Kcalb, nor do I have anything for him," she explained without an air of critical harshness, deciding Macarona earned that much at least for now. "He has chosen his path in life, and I've no qualms with his decision; however, it is my nature as a demon to no longer associate with him due to the decision to harmonize with his Goddess for peace. Although I show him no ill will and no longer contact him by any means, he and I have come to an agreement and I shall not hold him responsible for turning his coat. That being said, I cannot aid him either."

"I understand, Your Majesty, and I'm sure Mr. Kcalb does too." This mere mention of the Devil in her world with a lesser title made GriRea raise on of her eyebrows, though she chose not to pursue the matter. It was unimportant and he probably didn't mind it at all that much regarding how he chose to be addressed among his subordinates and any peers if any.

"Rise."

Macarona did so and stood attentively, her skirt gently swaying as GriRea slowly sauntered around her. The Queen regarded her with an unfaltering stare after having briefly grilled the angel with a couple inquiries. She did not know of what to make of her at this moment, though she found Macarona's behavior to be quite appropriate for an angelic being who looked so young.

"Your age, angel."

"Sixteen, Your Highness."

"Occupation."

"High school student. I was also once a part time night guard in an arts and crafts museum."

"Social status."

"Citizen, Your Majesty," Macarona responded, answering each declarative inquiry GriRea posed to her with pure honesty which the Queen determined to also be a winning factor.

"Have you any combat experience?"

"I am a grappler, and I also know taekwondo and karate. I directly participated in the Gray Garden's defense against the Devil known as Ivlis and managed to stand up to him personally with my friends. Although I had been scared for the most part and was knocked unconscious for a brief spell during the fight against him, I have found my courage and can now face any threat. Even so, I still prefer to handle things peacefully as a pacifist because I am not fond of conflict."

"Impressive…" GriRea remarked to show her opinion was leaning in favor of Macarona's accomplishments. Yet Ivlis himself wasn't here to confirm his defeat even though she heard about it from Reficul. She would've given her the benefit of the doubt, but explained why she could not. "You've made quite an accomplishment, angel; however, I only have Reficul's word that Ivlis had lost and he is also not present to explain the situation. I suppose your testimony can be added to it, but I require more evidence and eyewitness accounts to affirm whether you were in fact involved."

"I fully understand, Your Highness," Macarona said, bowing her head in respect, knowing the Queen had a point since she and Reficul were the only two individuals here who were actively involved in that conflict, even if the Devil only aided from behind the scenes.

"Nonetheless, you have made something of a positive impression, so I am willing to present you with a chance to determine how worthy you are. If Sin has invited you and holds you in regards of the highest standards, you may stay; I've no issue with that," Her Majesty stated while shutting her eyes. "Even so, I would like to test you if I may by asking everyone else for opinions of you."

"Certainly, Your Majesty, it shall be as you command," Macarona bowed again.

GriRea opened her eyes and attempted to speak up, though Sin managed to speak first and politely raised a hand in front of the queen to interject. "With all due respect, Your Highness, you must be exhausted from your trip. I am grateful you are starting to tolerate Macarona even if you've not fully placed your favor in her yet, though I can personally assure you she is a sweet angel. If a test is necessary, might I inquire if you would be so kind as to save it for after dinner? Everybody must be famished by now, though dinner will be ready soon enough. How about I show you three to your rooms now where you all may unpack until then? Is that acceptable, Your Highness?"

The Queen shut her eyes and nodded. "Very well, lead the way, Sin," she instructed as the maids followed her, the other guests, and Sin upstairs towards the guest rooms with their things.

"You know, Macarona," Rane commented to the angel as she walked up beside her to make conversation regarding their first impressions on Her Majesty, "we did a great job of handling that first meeting with her. I could barely contain my excitement. I thought I was going to mess up."

Macarona smiled. "Same here. I'm glad all turned out well," she said as they chuckled.

"Well, in any case, you seem to have become fast friends with Lil already and Rosaliya has come to favor you too. I'd say you've got three demons and two Devils on your side for whatever test the Queen has in mind for you. Don't worry, Reficul, Sin and I will support you."

Reficul sighed as they chatted amiably. "I-I hope this doesn't go wrong…" she muttered.

…

"Piss off!" The disgruntled cow demon shoved the conductor aside when he began to leave. Ushio hadn't paid for the train ride back at the other station, partly because he didn't have enough gold coins on hand at the time since most of them were spent getting bandaged up by Alibe. There was also a second reason, that being the fact he was a brash colonel who believed he could do and get away with anything. "I'll have you know I'm one of our army's most distinguished soldiers as a colonel, and I'm one of the best street fighters the city's ever known!" he shouted at him when a hand tried to reach for his sleeve. "Get in my way and I'll beat the living shit out of you, got it?!"

"Not until you pay for the ride like every other passenger!" the conductor shouted back. "I have it on good authority to contact the police and have you arrested! Your military status doesn't mean a damn to me when you don't pay for the service we've provided you!"

"It was a damn train ride! Like hell I'd pay for a single trip! Now get out of my way, I have a beating to deliver to some stupid angel at the Devil's!" he shouted and violently shoved the man away again. "Move it, I don't have time for jackass imbeciles like you!"

Realizing it was no use getting him to pay the transit fee, the conductor radioed a superior about Ushio's conduct and informed him it was best to contact the Devil about the cow demon and his unruly behavior. If he wasn't going to foot the bill he owed, she would hear of it. He was going to the keep where she lived after all, so Reficul and Sin would be expecting him shortly.

...

"That's the place, isn't it?" a cloaked figure asked, gazing through the binoculars he held.

"Should be," his comrade guessed, sitting next to the other guy on the tree branch while on a reconnaissance of the area. The forest gave them plenty of cover so they were hidden. He smiled. "Hah, this should be easy taking the whole lot of them out. They'll never suspect a thing."

The other cloaked figure chuckled. "Right, nothing she doesn't know won't hurt her. Think about it: the Devil and her entourage all perish and we're heroes. Lady Elux rewards us well, gives us a raise and promotes us. Imagine us as proud members basking in her presence."

"Yeah, you want to head over now and start slaughtering? It'll just be the two of us taking all the credit, and those losers with their pathetic Devil won't know what hit them. Stealth is key."

"Hence why keeping the radio off when I contact you morons should help," her voice came up over their communicators, startling them both into submission.

"Wah, o-oh, Captain! W-what a surprise!" one of the cloaked figures commented as he and his buddy tried to sound surprised. "W-we didn't think you'd be calling so soon."

"I have been in contact ever since you idiots left. Your earpieces were still on."

"F-fear not, Captain, our objective is complete," one of them assured her. "Coming back."

"Pronto, and don't compromise our position. The fact you've went ahead and tried to have us all killed is now officially the least of your worries." Her tone of voice and words worried them because they both knew she'd be giving them a strict punishment on their return. Although the two of them would've rather avoided her, they had no choice but to go back and accept their penalty.

…

 **What a relief, eh? Macarona's managed to please GriRea just enough to ensure she'd leave a good first impression on her. Yet she still has to pass the Queen's test.**

 **I know I said I'd possibly address the matter regarding Ushio in a response to a review for this story (responses to reviews are now handled in the forums since there's a thread for those), but this chapter was getting long enough as it was. At best I'll go over it in more detail in the next chapter since I've established his presence by the keep. Apologies for the wait.**

 **As for the angels, they were included to establish the appearance of another character in this story. I've said before this will be a main character in this story and that the person's going to be an angel from Elux's heaven. As you've just read, I alluded to a female character, so I can confirm it isn't going to be Mars. That just leaves only three angels: Mercury, Luna, or Sol. You've got three guesses, but only one will appear as a main character.**

 **I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**


	4. Chapter Four: Macarona's Test

**Warning: Significant spoilers for Seven Nights at Clarabella's later in this chapter.**

…

The maid's footfalls echoed as she rushed towards the dining room at the far end of the keep where it overlooked a pretty little pond and a scenic forest garden of the plants located in that area. For a space that had to deal with the rain, it was surprisingly quiet as it was also clean due to the carrions being disposed of by vultures with leftover remains thrown away by groundskeepers. Despite the fact she was in a hurry to speak with Reficul and Sin, the maid knocked politely before being called in as she wished she wasn't interrupting the dinner. "Milady!" she announced with a hasty bow to the Devil. "Colonel Ushio barged in! We've done everything to persuade him to leave your evening in peace, but he refused to depart and abused other servants!" She would've gone on with her report, though Reficul merely lifted a hand to quiet her since she was aware of his pending arrival already, having received the call regarding Ushio's behavior at the train station.

"So he's come has he," she spoke up from her seat at the head of the table with GriRea and Sin on both sides of her. "Yes, the station master has contacted me regarding that callous oaf. He's refused to pay the transit fee again and now believes he can come to me demanding I pardon it."

"I don't believe that's the case, Refi," Sin suggested, sitting next to Macarona who was in between the snake demon and Rane and across from Lil. "When I was leading Macarona and Rane to their rooms, they explained he and Alibe sought to begin a confrontation with Macarona on the claim that she was an angel who stole the rose badge and forged the invitation."

"Neither was true, of course," the young angel remarked to further clarify the situation. "It was starting to get overwhelming since the other demons at the station started to side with them as they thought Doctor Alibe was telling the truth. They didn't bother me before, but left to their own devices once I inquired what they thought would happen if you found out, Sin, how you'd react to finding out they became aggressive towards me based on a belief that had yet to be corroborated."

"I'm guessing Ushio was the only one who couldn't stand that," Rane chimed in. "I didn't see Alibe there when I arrived, but I watched Ushio pick a fight with Macarona. She obviously did not want to fight, though he insisted and lost," she explained briefly when Lil spoke up.

"In other words, the bull grabbed his own horns and got his fat ass handed to him."

"Language and tone, Lil," the Queen commented critically as the demon made a face at her which made GriRea smack her with the fan. "You are not a heathen; act appropriately for someone of your status, otherwise I will see to it that your attitude and behavior are broken via tutoring."

Lil scoffed. "As if I need a tutor to educate me. I've been through serious schooling."

"Watch it," Rosaliya uttered in agreement with Her Majesty. "Still, at least we could enjoy dinner without the interruption of this buffoon. Thankfully dessert is already finished."

"Indeed," Sin agreed as she bowed before them all as a token of gratitude. "I hope everyone liked the meal. Our chefs really are some of the best in this underworld. My apologies to everyone for not being able to stay in your company for a bit, but I must go help Refi deal with the Colonel. He must be here regarding that incident he and Alibe started before against Macarona. If you'll all excuse me temporarily." Thus she stepped out of the room to follow the Devil as a few butlers had arrived to collect the cutlery while Lil leaned back in her chair and breathed deeply.

"Boy, I'm stuffed! Mm, that was one of the best meals I've ever had! Kudos to the chefs!" she exclaimed as one of the butlers smiled and affirmed he would deliver the message for her.

"Same here, please be sure to give the chefs my regards as well," Macarona also spoke up while they cleaned up as the five of them stood from the table, the other three also complimenting the meal before all of them headed out. One of the maids greeted them out in the corridor.

"Good evening to you all," she cordially said with a smile, her black wings gently flapping. "Milady has instructed me to escort you all to the library as per Her Majesty's instructions. I must beg your pardon, Miss Macarona, for we will be passing through the foyer where the Colonel still remains. Hopefully Milady Reficul and Milady Sin have dealt with him by then so we might pass undisturbed by him. If he's there, please allow Milady Reficul and Milady Sin to handle him."

"Certainly, that's alright," Macarona commented with a smile of her own as they all began following the maid towards the library. She recalled where it was since Rane took her on a tour of the keep before they rejoined Sin and Reficul in the parlor. So far it was one of her favorite spaces here because of all the books and how they were organized neatly on the shelves with an amazing fireplace constructed of quartz and stone built into the wall. It was a traditional fireplace like hers, and the angel looked forward to sitting by it with her new friends, supposing that would be where the Queen tested her. "That was such a great meal. I truly loved the Stromboli and mashed potatoes served as the main course; they were delicious!" she said to make conversation with them.

"Yeah, I enjoyed the lasagna too!" Rane remarked in agreement, obviously daydreaming a bit about the food since her eyes were closed and she sighed happily with an open grin on her face. Macarona chuckled, evidently seeing a bit of Yosafire's love for food in the spider demon; the two of them evidently were gourmets it seemed. "What did you think of the food, Your Majesty? Had it lived up to any expectations regarding the chefs' skills in the kitchen?"

"As a matter of fact, it had," GriRea commented, fond of how well prepared it was. "Seems Reficul and Sin have handpicked only the finest cooks throughout their underworld. Their abilities are reminiscent of the ones I employ as they are on par with them. Even Satanick's chefs also have an unparalleled expertise in the kitchen as I've found on more than one occasion." She didn't smile to convey her thoughts, though the words alone were enough to show her praise.

"Ah, would that be another demon or a Devil?" Macarona inquired while Lil paused in her walking momentarily so she could saunter side by side with Macarona and Rane.

"Yes to the second, he's my dipshit husband," she answered, putting an arm around her as a gesture of friendship before averting her attention to Rane. "Sorry for that last word, Rane."

"It's fine," Rane commented, still having a hard time coming to terms with that topic. She had nearly left the table at dinner when GriRea posed an inquiry about her family, but Lil stopped her by placing a hand over Her Highness' mouth and whispered in her ear that the subject was not a pleasant concept and that the spider demon couldn't handle it because it made her uncomfortable. Luckily she was feeling a little better and knew Lil was only responding to Macarona's inquiry as the angel did have a right to know, though Macarona also accommodated her by dropping the topic for her since she didn't say anything else regarding Satanick and who he was.

"So, Macarona, what do you think of my world so far?" Lil asked, referring to the question the angel had asked her, the Queen, and Rosaliya regarding that matter. The demon explained hers was a world of everlasting night, everything being pretty much nothing but business, business, and more business—kind of like companies in this underworld. The Queen affirmed the explanation and also cited how there were many small shops too, though most of the world's affairs were all business related because of Fumus and Satanick. While the God was the more serious of the two and based his government entirely on business alone, the Devil ensured his own government also dealt in politics as well so he could stay in power as a monarchial tyrant. That comment about him abusing power came from Lil, though she also said he ensured it was an authoritarian system in which aristocrats—specifically the males and more importantly patriarchs, which had been uttered in a bitter tone, leading Macarona to suspect Lil hated the system—could benefit at the expense of those who were less fortunate in the middle and lower classes. It was also a totalitarian system too.

As for Rosaliya's world, Macarona felt it was similar to the Gray Garden in regards to the terrain. It was a bright world full of flowers with fields and meadows everywhere the eye could see. Forests also dotted the landscape as did valleys, tundra, deserts, and several seas. Much of the Flower World also consisted of farmlands as well. The Devil gave a lecture on affairs of her world, how the political system was run by a democratically theocratic government that was monarchial in the sense that Rosaliya's family governed it for generations. Multiple cults were in her world, each dedicated to certain elementals and spirits, and paganism was the world religion with diverse faiths composing it. Settlements were mostly rural, though cities built directly into remains of older urban regions updated to maintain an air of some modernity that fit with the religious beliefs and interactions with other worlds existed. There were also nomadic tribes too which helped maintain the traditional feel of the world. Rosaliya also said there were druids, shamen, priests, and clerics in the Flower World as well besides the nomads who all traveled the land or stayed in one place.

They also asked about her world, and she obliged them with a lecture of her own to explain what the Gray Garden was like to them so they could understand it better.

"I've never been there, personally; all I can say is that it's quite productive from what you told me, Lil," Macarona responded to the inquiry, liking the fact that so much work seemed to get done there. "Sounds like the work ethic is your world's best defining feature."

"It sure is, though let me be honest with you, Macarona. I can't stand it, how everything is all business all the time," the demon confessed despite the fact the angel had already become aware of the fact she despised her world's professional customs—just as everyone else here knew too. "I hate how nobody in my world can ever have any fun—and I mean real fun instead of quietly doing something like reading a book or watching documentaries, etcetera, etcetera. It's so boring, do you agree?" she asked, to which the angel nodded and gave her a neutral reply. She clearly didn't want to come across as something of a tomboy, but she had to admit Lil had a point.

"I suppose, though I do like to read and play folk and country music on my guitar. It doesn't sound exciting, I know, but sometimes people just prefer the simple pleasures in life."

Lil giggled. "No argument there since I prefer to shimmer down sometimes too, but it's so irritating how pretty much the entire population of my whole damn world has to be boring when a break comes up. I mean, can't they at least find something exciting to do or something."

"You? Calming yourself on occasions?" Rosaliya commented blandly without humor. "It's a tough tale to believe coming from a demon who doesn't know her place in her world and abroad, but in your defense for once, surely must be others in your world who share your tastes. You could stop bothering Reficul and spend time with whoever they are more often."

"Nope, nobody," Lil remarked as they came closer to the foyer. "Sullivan's too busy on his own personal business and in the work he does for Yagi. Glasses hates it when I'm around, nor am I allowed to have any friends over. At the very least, I get to sneak out of my underworld to hang out with your girls. All of you are my only friends in life—well, except for the Queen, of course, but that's another story. I'm so thankful to have all of you together and here for me!"

"Such a shame," Rane said since she could feel Lil was hurt by the fact nobody seemed to be friends with her in her own world. "It would be nice for others to at least consider that. If you're that lonely, Lil, feel free to come visit anytime. We'll always welcome you with open arms—well, Sin and I would as Reficul doesn't seem to care for you. Still, you've got the two of us here, and I'm positive Macarona would also welcome you with us and in her own world too."

"Certainly!" Macarona agreed since she had become quite fond of Lil and already became fast friends with the demon. "You're welcome to come and visit my own world too. I can speak to Mr. Kcalb and Miss Etihw about it, though I know they'd welcome you just as they would anyone so long as nobody is violent or tries to invade our world like Ivlis did a while back."

"Oh, thank you girls, you're pals, you know that?!" Lil immediately got behind both of the girls and embraced them in a bear hug, squealing in joy because she had two best friends she could rely on. "It means so much to me to hear you say that! Thank you so much!" Her delightful noises were enough to annoy GriRea and Rosaliya, but neither of them said anything as they ignored her.

They were all just about to reach the door when they could hear a man screaming from the foyer as what may have been an argument started to escalate. "Oh dear," the maid murmured as a sign escaped her mouth, "it appears the Colonel is giving them a hard time." She took the doorknob in hand and pushed the door forward to lead them through as they paid no attention to the heated debate between Reficul and Sin who were ordering the cow demon to leave and go back to make the transit payment he hadn't given for the train ride, and Ushio who fought back. They crossed the lobby heedlessly without caring to interfere as the maid instructed them not to when the cow demon's eyes fell upon Macarona and became enraged at the sight of her.

"You angelic bitch!" he shouted, shoving Sin aside and beginning to storm over to her. His business wasn't with the Devil or Sin; he had come for payback. "It's about time I beat the shit out of you and kicked your ass big time!" Although Macarona briefly caught sight of him stomping to her, she merely shut her eyes and ignored him, prepared to help halt him if she was forced into the situation. "You look at me and meet your maker, you little—let go of me!" he screamed since he'd been interrupted by Sin as he was making an attempt to harm Macarona and fight her again.

"I think not, Colonel," Sin raised her voice towards him, having shot her tail out to prevent him from disrupting the peace by bothering the guests, specifically Macarona. "You've overstayed your welcome. Refi and I are not pleased with your behavior. Get out or we will throw you out by force," she threatened him, yet to no avail since his rage towards the angel blinded him.

"Piss off!" he shouted angrily and freed himself with sheer force, but luckily some servants had just finished setting down some potted plants to decorate the foyer. As a Devil, Rosaliya used one of her powers to enable strong vines to grow from them which slipped around the cow demon's limbs. However, he broke free of these as well; thankfully Rane and Lil stood out in front of their friend to keep him from reaching Macarona with the latter unleashing a couple of bats made of her hair which flew out and socked Ushio in the stomach. The strikes were strong and hard enough to make him stagger to his knees in front of the guests, and he winced in pain as he looked up at the angel who merely deadpanned a disapproving frown coupled with a leer at him, hands on her hips. "You bitch…" he uttered and tried to stand when GriRea stepped forward and smashed her fan on his face, the blow having been delivered hard enough to draw blood from the new vertical gash. It only enraged him more and he moved to try and tackle the Queen. "You piece of shit—"

"Stand down, filthy heathen." Even before she had uttered those words, GriRea's eyes had begun to glow a light purplish color while Ushio's whole body convulsed in pain and tightened in on itself. He screamed in pain, yet Her Majesty's words appeared to drone out his cries. "I am your Queen, worm. How dare you try to assault me and disrupt our affairs. Who are you to disturb us?"

"T-the wha…Q-Queen…s-screw you! G-go to hell—" the cow demon tried to speak as he delivered an insult to her. Ushio did know who she was, but despised politics. He was a demon of action, preferring to run right into the fray without pondering his actions or giving a damn about a comrade or two so long as he got the chance to fight and kill. Yet his screams echoed in the entire foyer, and Her Highness was unrelenting in the punishment she dealt to him. He couldn't stand it.

"One more outburst and I will kill on the spot without hesitation or a second thought," she threatened him as well, already in the process of carrying that out despite the fact she let some life still course through him. "You shall be sure to suffer a violently painful death, and I shall see to it that your soul languishes in the most oppressive agony you will know. Now answer my inquiry, filth: who are you to interrupt our affairs making demands and threatening a fellow guest. Answer me, or I will annihilate you slowly and order Reficul to obliterate whatever remains of you, worm."

"C-Colonel Ushio of the army…" he replied weakly, realizing she meant it and was capable of slaughtering him since her power was far superior to his own brute strength. "I-I c-came to beat the s-shit out of that b-bitch angel. S-she'll not get away for w-what she did."

"Absolutely not, Ushio!" Sin shouted angrily at him, slithering over to yell at the poor guy who had already demeaned himself in front of everyone. "Macarona and Rane have both informed me you are responsible for continuing to antagonize her at the city train station. I shall not allow a man like you to do as he pleases. You were denied further advancement in the army for the actions you are responsible for, such as the aforementioned attempt to harm Macarona. As I share authority with Refi, I hold the authority to have you demoted for your callous behavior. I will not repeat my orders again, save for just this once: get out or you will be thrown out forcefully."

"He is of your army, correct, Sin?" the Queen asked as the snake demon nodded. "He is to be dishonorably discharged for his conduct." She looked from Sin to Reficul. "Now."

"As you wish," Reficul bowed in consent to her order. "He shall be stripped of all honors."

"W-wha…" the cow demon murmured, eyes widening as he slowly realized what happened even though he still refused to believe it. He was that stubborn for a cow demon, after all.

"He shall be punished for his misconduct today," Sin agreed with the Queen's perspective of this little incident, also adding his offence towards Macarona earlier and his continued objective to pound her now into the charges against him. "But then what will the army make of this? Ushio's only managed to become a colonel through popular opinion which he garnered through fighting in the streets. Those who support him would resent the decision and demand his reinstatement."

"Inform them all it was a direct order from their Queen," GriRea instructed her on what to do when handling the distribution of that information once it became news divulged to the public. "Their pay is to be docked immediately should they say otherwise in defense of this filth. If they're to continue with their misconduct, they're to be dishonorably discharged as well. Imprisonment will be the next step if they become treasonous." She cast critical gazes at the Devil and the snake demon. "Do I make myself clear? You both are to relay all of that to them."

Reficul kneeled before her, prepared to follow her orders to the letter. "By your command, it shall be carried out right away, Your Majesty. However, I would like to make a request that you are present once we deliver the news of our former Colonel's dishonorable discharge to affirm the order and validate it in person," she remarked obediently as the Queen nodded.

"Very well, request granted. How long shall it take to have him removed from the military registers?" she asked. "This decision is to be made clear right away once his status is terminated."

"At best it should be cleared by Sunday at the latest," Sin explained, "so we'll divulge this decision to the public then. However, he would most likely spread the information beforehand due to releasing him from our estate here. Our concern is that he'll possibly raise moral against us."

"Duly noted," GriRea nodded again, taking her concerns into consideration before looking at Ushio once more. "Hear me, worm, you are to relate to all you know that your actions have now officially ruined you. You shall inform those who inquire into it that you alone are at fault for this disruption and any other charges you've accumulated. This is your responsibility; failure to comply with this command will be imminent death for you should we discover you've staged preparations for a radical uprising to maintain your position and possibly secure promotions denied to you. Do I make myself clear, filth?" she demanded, leaning down to get right in his face menacingly despite the fact she wasn't displaying any signs of enjoying the cow demon's despair.

GriRea certainly did come across as an intimidating individual. Perhaps it was mostly due to the fact she was a Queen with her fair share of coldhearted character traits.

"B-but that angel—" Ushio tried to protest when Macarona, already becoming fed up with him partly because he was annoying her and also due to her feeling like she should've contributed something to this affair as well, stepped forward and seized him by the collar.

" _Answer the question, now,"_ she demanded harshly, applying the full venom in her voice. The sound of it made Reficul swallow uneasily as the Devil stepped back away once she stood up because her fears were reignited by that tone of voice and the dark face the angel made. Although she had managed to successfully quell her terror during dinner even though Macarona still sat next to Sin which was right by her, the emergence of the young angel's scary side which she displayed and used against Ushio was enough to frighten her. Thankfully it wasn't directed at her.

"T-the hell's it t-to you, b-bitch—" the cow demon demanded, somehow unfazed. Reficul was surprised at how defiant he remained even in the face of danger, but his screams indicated he could not withstand the pain GriRea dealt to him without even having to use any physical force as only the power of her dominating will and magic was more than enough to subdue her. And yet in spite of the fact he was nearly on the verge of actual death, Ushio still maintained his callous nature towards them as he tried to spit on the angel, but luckily Rane stepped forward and slapped a spider web she produced over his mouth before he could release the spit shot at Macarona.

"Either nod or shake your head, Ushio," she demanded, crossing her arms while glaring at him. "You have officially lost before whatever you hoped to accomplish could even begin. Either accept your punishment or face additional consequences, including instant death, if you refuse."

He growled at them all and glared back, though finally realized he wouldn't get anywhere. They had already organized together as a group and outnumbered him, leaving him with no chance of success. Begrudgingly, Ushio nodded, unable to speak because of the spider web which seemed to satisfy all of them as Her Highness spoke up. "Good, somebody throw him out. He caused more than enough trouble already. Let this filthy heathen walk home without medical attention. It should be a suitable punishment for his misconduct tonight, though he'll not die as he will suffer from the knowledge of his impending sentence and what others will say of him now that he's been charged."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Macarona complied with the order right away as she began to drag Ushio along the carpet towards the front doors while Lil jogged over to help cast the cow demon out into the cold rain. Two butlers standing by the doors opened them as they approached and carelessly tossed Ushio onto the porch. His body bounced along the stone as he then tumbled down the stairs into a large puddle that formed on the path at the bottom.

"Buh bye!" Lil called out to him as she and the angel dusted their hands clean of the matter. "Don't let the wolves and vultures bite ya! Have fun wallowing in your own misery!" Her foot had accidently kicked something to the side and she bent down to pick it up once the doors shut behind them. Lil beamed when she realized what it was after looking inside and she showed it to Macarona eagerly. "Look, Macarona, he dropped his wallet and left it behind! It's ours now!"

"I think not, Lil," GriRea commented, stepping over to them and snatching the wallet from the demon with her palm open flat. Flamers materialized in her hand, burning Ushio's wallet and everything he carried inside. "He'll not be needing this anymore, plus I forbid you from profiting from his demise and attempting to get others involved. I've no need of a second 'Warwick' in the underworlds anytime soon, nor do I want others following his example."

"Sorry," Lil apologized sheepishly as Macarona wondered what Warwick was like. Maybe Warwick was a powerful demon the Queen knew, someone who could have become a Devil. Alibe brought that name up when he alluded to being under some kind of arrest for associating with this individual. Maybe their conduct together was illegal and the doctor had been caught. Nonetheless, she didn't think about it too much; although she was worried about her friends since she felt unsure if anything was done about Warwick, Macarona thought it wasn't her place to get involved because her world did stay out of the affairs of other worlds. To become a party to something that was not her world's business could lead to better relations with one party, but adverse relations with others.

The Queen sighed just as Macarona decided to remain neutral towards that comment about Warwick. "Just be sure it doesn't happen again, Lil. Now come, you two, it is time to begin. I shall now be testing this angel," she commented to end the conversation, though Her Majesty still could not decide whether Macarona's conduct towards Ushio was a favorable factor. That being said, an outburst like that regardless of how it'd been toned down was understandable considering how the cow demon acted. His behavior got her own nerves too and she handled it well, so she supposed a benefit of the doubt was appropriate enough since Macarona didn't get too riled up either. Though the angel did display some anger towards Ushio, GriRea overlooked it since she agreed he was the problem. Even so, she was grateful to Macarona for having taken the first initiative to listen to her command to dump the cow demon out; plus she also decided to be lenient towards Lil for that too. "Now then, let us all proceed to the library. That worm has derailed this procedure long enough."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Lil playfully saluted her as the two bats that emerged from her to strike the cow demon returned to her hair and rejoined it. She lightly elbowed Macarona's arm and had even winked at her too with a grin on her face. "I think that first impression and your contribution to the little display just now turned the tides in your favor, Macarona. I heard Sin and Rane will stand by you with Reficul, and you've also got Rosaliya and I. With the five of us to convince Her Majesty of how awesome you are on your behalf, you'll definitely pass for sure."

"You think so?" Macarona asked with a gracious smile, thankful for the support and close friendship with Lil despite having met the demon only today. "I don't think we should be use Mr. Ushio as a stepping stone for my benefit because that would be rude towards him. We must be the better people by leaving him be instead of harming or belittling him further because that can make us out as being in the wrong. Besides, I am still a pacifist until I really do have to step up and make a contribution to any efforts at preserving peace and harmony through diplomacy. I avoid conflict when I can, though even I admit a little discipline like that is necessary at times."

"Well said, angel," GriRea commented, her opinion of Macarona rising which showed she was beginning to actually become fond of her. Yet the young angel still had to take the test.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Macarona shut her eyes and bowed in appreciation, welcome to the praise coming from Her Highness. Securing high favor with nobility of GriRea's status was difficult to acquire, though the young angel knew she had pleased the ruler so far. Maybe she might be considered a close friend of hers if Her Majesty allowed it, but only on the Queen's terms.

"Aw, not even a little bit?" Lil asked, slightly disappointed that her new friend wasn't going to take an interest in gloating over the loser to brag about the victory she shared with them. "You'll not find any satisfaction in taunting him, not even a teensy-weensy, little bit?"

"Sorry, Lil, I don't," Macarona apologized, hoping she didn't hurt the demon's feelings. "I do have to take Her Highness' test as well, and I'm sure there must be more to it than simply each of you providing a statement on my behalf. I'll probably have to say something as well."

"Indeed, for you already have, angel," GriRea affirmed for her. "I heard enough from you. That should satisfy the latter requirement with the addition of your perception to it. It is expected, to be fair, though others I've tested have not performed as well so far. They're confidence in only having to do so little by merely observing me hear of others speak usually shatters when I turn my attention to them and request for their statements. Of all those I've interacted with, you're just one of the few who happened to gracefully acknowledge that beforehand, prior to its application; and, if I might add, you're also the first angel to have ever come that far for one so young as you." She still hadn't smiled, and the expression never emerged at all throughout their time here. Regardless of which emotions she displayed, GriRea's comments verified she was pleased with Macarona and her progress in having come so far in that regard that the Queen was starting to like her. Although she still didn't address Macarona by name—which the angel was fine with since she did not mind that—Her Majesty's approval was gradually increasing all the same from what she saw and heard. Macarona's behavior was quite appropriate and ladylike, qualities GriRea favored in others. While some individuals like Lil didn't display such qualities, this angel's demeanor impressed her a lot.

"Your praise is most certainly appreciated, Your Majesty," Macarona humbly bowed once more, grateful the Queen was showing her fondness of her. "Still, if there is more I must do, I will endeavor to fulfill whatever task you've set to the best of my abilities."

"Your modesty and loyalty are good virtues. For an angel, you continue to intrigue me."

"Well, shall we get going to the library now," Sin interjected so they could progress to the next events of the night. "I am ready to give my statement on Macarona's behalf, as I'm sure each of you are too." Her remark was directed at the others who would also testify as part of the test as Rosaliya, Lil, and Rane all affirmed their roles in the matter. Only Reficul remained silent because of her fear, yet a deadpanned glare from the snake demon secured a nod from the Devil. "Now, let us all proceed onward, shall we?" Sin asked, clapping her hands together with closed eyes and also a smile on her face, assuming the lead and bringing them through another hallway to the library.

There, everyone gathered around the fireplace with Sin and Lil sitting on either side of the angel while Rane and Reficul sat on another couch as Rosaliya claimed a third for herself and the Queen. However, GriRea did not seat herself right away since she proceeded to the center as maids began to tend the fireplace. They tossed a couple logs in it and one of them set it ablaze with a fire spell that ignited the logs to warm the space around everyone. Once the maids had gone, the Queen cleared her throat and began to speak up to address the small crowd around her. "Let us begin with the trial of this angel among us. I shall now hear what each of you has to say concerning her. Rane, you may start us off and we shall then move counterclockwise from your position. You may start." And with that said, Macarona's test was underway as Rane put forth her statement.

"I can't speak for everyone even though they agree with me, but I know Macarona's great to have as a friend. She's very understanding of others from what I can tell and have experienced, and the two of us have already hit it off well and became friends already. She may be an angel, but I trust her as a friend of the highest caliber," the spider demon said as Macarona smiled gratefully.

"I see, very well," GriRea commended her statement and looked to Rosaliya. "Rosaliya."

"Macarona has made a good first impression on me. I'm certainly pleased by her manners, and I also like her sweet nature. She is more than welcome to count herself as one of us," Rosaliya declared with a small smile, though it then became a frown. "Now, bear in mind I've no ill will for you at all, Macarona, but there is a personal issue from my past which has made me a little unsure of angels and deities. You are not to blame, for this happened well before you were born, though everyone here aside from you is already aware of what happened. You're not at all like him as I've seen, so I do like you as you're a nice girl. However, I'd like to request that the issue remains as a private matter for now until I'm prepared to share it with you. My apologies if it offends you, and also for taking the commercial ties I share with the Gray Garden into account as well because to say or do anything against you which could result in you getting sent away would likely be a bad impression on my part as it could jeopardize those ties and tarnish my world's reputation."

Macarona smiled and shook her head. "No, not at all, I understand. I won't pry, so you can tell me about what happened if you wish when you feel you're ready, Rosaliya. It's true that trade can be a factor to consider when analyzing certain information and making negotiations, though I don't really mind to be honest. Anything one says to me which may come across as belittling does not bother me if the individual meant something else or had a valid reason for the complaint. I will not let it jeopardize the commercial ties with your world as I know people in my world like what they receive through trade with yours, and I don't want to ruin it for them or anyone in yours who happens to like what they get from the Gray Garden. You and I interacting together is microscopic compared to the commercial trade, but I would like to preserve those relations and our own too."

Rosaliya returned the smile, grateful for her understanding. "Thank you, Macarona."

"Very good, Rosaliya," GriRea remarked. "Lil."

Lil beamed happily and put an arm around the angel. "You already know how I feel. We're best friends already and nothing's going to change that, not even a direct order from you."

"Your disobedience in any regard displeases me, but very well. Sin."

The snake demon smiled and she too placed an arm around Macarona as her key necklace swayed lightly. "I had first met Macarona when she was sent by Etihw to give Refi, Mors, and I a tour of her hometown and the castle. She was one of the best guides we could have, and I'm proud to consider her a dear friend of us. I've invited her over for the weekend as thanks for showing us around Gray Village and Blancblack Castle and for introducing us to all her friends, though she is welcome to come visit to spend time with us anytime—when we're each available, of course." She turned to Rane and smiled apologetically at the spider demon. "I'm still so sorry you couldn't have made it then, Rane. You really would've liked the Gray Garden, but I am sure you will someday," she said to cheer the spider demon up if Rane felt sad for not having been invited to that daytrip.

"It's alright, I can always make plans for another visit with you all," Rane said with a smile.

"It appears we already have a majority ruling," Her Majesty remarked to progress with the procedure, finally coming to Reficul and setting her eyes on the Devil. "Your turn, Reficul."

Reficul swallowed heavily to clear her throat and tried to suppress a shudder, turning a bit pale now that the attention was foisted onto her. Sin expected her to speak in Macarona's favor for the angel to be fully accepted by the Queen, but that was extremely difficult. She had not prepared herself for this—the others didn't either, but they aced their roles perfectly—and as such, found it hard to think of anything to say. "U-um, with all due respect, Your Majesty," she began, attempting to keep herself from stuttering despite having failed to hide it at first. Even her voice was shaky as she spoke, a bad sign that her stoicism was flaking away to reveal the timorous behavior displayed only when she upset Macarona and screwed up badly in front of the angel. "I-I believe you already have a majority opinion already. My statement is not really necessary since everyone—"

Yet Reficul failed to continue with that train of verbalized thought since she saw Sin throw a critical glare at her which made the Devil shudder and shrink back into her seat. "Refi, I've been over this with you before, twice before now. I'm glad you've made the attempt so far, though we'd appreciate it if you could say your thoughts about Macarona. You took part in the defense against Ivlis when he invaded, so you can at least testify about what you know from your experience then."

"B-but didn't we already establish that point already?" Reficul inquired, somewhat failing to suppress her growing terror. "W-we've said we only have her word and mine on that."

"Indeed, and I already recall your report on the matter. Did you personally see how she had performed during the defense, or not?" GriRea inquired with a slightly critical tone while directing a gaze of equal intensity at the Devil which Reficul would not have minded on any other occasion had they been discussing a different subject. "Well, Reficul?" The Queen leaned forward to get in her face as Reficul leaned back mostly because Her Majesty was invading her personal space.

"I-I…" the Devil stuttered nervously until her voice died away. Everybody had taken notice of her discomfort, though only Lil took the opportunity to tease her about it.

"My, my, somebody's nervous," she giggled with a hand to her mouth as she shut her eyes and continued to taunt Reficul. "Have you failed to prepare a grand speech for Macarona and Her Majesty like we have, Refi?" she then asked, using the cute nickname only Sin was allowed to use.

"T-that's not the point! I-I mean—j-just don't call me that!" the Devil stammered out quite a fearful retort, unable to help herself since her fright was exposed to everyone around her. Though it was dreadfully embarrassing, the poor Devil didn't know what to say as she lost her composure.

"I get it!" Lil laughed aloud. "It's fear! You're afraid of Macarona!" She hit the bullseye a good distance away with perfect accuracy, something Reficul wouldn't dare to admit. She opened her mouth to tell the demon to shut up and ask Sin to control her behavior, though a glare from the Queen silenced the demon who still kept chortling despite having been silenced. Reficul was about to thank Her Majesty for the show of support, but flinched when GriRea averted her gaze back. It wasn't a very pleasant stare, for Her Highness now made her demand regarding the matter.

"Well, which is it, Reficul?" she inquired, her tone taking a darker turn in terms of how her voice sounded critical. Even her gaze seemed to match the same vocalized element. "Either you've not thought of something to say, or you truly do fear this angel. I demand an answer."

Reficul swallowed heavily, attempting to stifle her shivering. "N-neither, my Queen." That had to have been a satisfactory answer, yet her body language said otherwise. "I-I've yet to prepare a s-statement for her. I-I mean, s-she is an angel w-who would probably be comfortable—" Though she was going to say that Macarona would've been better off in her own world, Reficul did not get to finish that comment because Sin slapped her across the face with her tail.

"Refi, how could you?!" the snake demon demanded angrily, irritated with the Devil for a poor choice of words. "I told you I invited Macarona to stay with us! You've been making such a fuss over her presence all day! I'm glad you at least made the effort, but my choice still stands and I don't care what you have to say about it anymore! I'm through with this discussion and we are done talking about it! End of story!" She tipped her head up, eyes closed as she grunted irritably.

"S-Sin, I-I—" Reficul tried to rationalize with her, hoping to calm the snake demon with a bit of reasoning on her part. Yet the Queen's voice startled her into obedient silence when GriRea spoke up to address her, and it seemed she had already had a good idea of what the answer was.

"Really, Reficul, is that so? Do you fear the angel or not?"

"N-no, I-I—" the Devil tried to respond in her defense, hoping to reclaim at least her dignity and composure despite having already lost the debate. Unfortunately, Her Majesty interrupted her.

"Prove it."

Reficul blinked nervously, uncertain of what she meant. "P-prove it? How?"

"In a duel," GriRea uttered, the message coming across more as an order than a suggestion.

While she was a Devil much stronger than Macarona, Reficul believed a sparring match to determine her bravery by showing she wasn't afraid wouldn't really help the situation. Sin already became mad at her for the remark she made about Macarona, and although the angel comprehended why Reficul was nervous, even she appeared to disapprove of the Devil's comment. Rane just kept silent and crossed her arms, unsure if it was right to offer some aid to Reficul to help her escape a sticky situation she landed herself in; the spider demon didn't want to offend her angelic friend. It was getting harder to think of a solution to end this trial—which had become hers to deal with now that it had reached this point—due to the absence of their support, Lil's snickering at her, Rosaliya not bothering to care all that much, and her own phobia of Macarona. Even so, she had to take the easy way out on purpose because no other options were left open except for admitting a truth which she wanted to deny as much as possible. "W-with all d-due respect, Your Majesty, I-I d-don't think t-that's a wise decision. S-surely there must b-be s-some other way of ascertaining an answer."

If Reficul knew she was walking into a trap that had already been set before, she would've come up with a better reply. She couldn't retract that statement, and the trap was already prepared. It was unintentional, of course, and even the individuals involved were unaware it was established until now when GriRea listened to the idea the Devil proposed and nodded. "Very well, Reficul, I shall put the dual aside," she said which made Reficul sigh in relief. "I'll ask for evidence instead." That didn't sound good at all, especially since it was an immediate request requiring time to fulfill.

The Devil's eyes widened slightly in surprise, still clueless as to what was going to happen. "E-evidence?" she parroted the last word as the syllables rolled off her tongue. "B-but I-I have no evidence, Your Majesty." The Queen stood up straight, displeased with that baffled response.

"Then the duel will proceed at once."

"W-wait, h-hold on, Your Majesty!" Reficul tried to protest, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Silence, Reficul," GriRea commanded her harshly. "If you'll not provide solidly concrete evidence to support your answer, you'll leave me no choice but to begin the duel."

Reficul's eyes became enlarged again as her pupils dilated, having realized she was trapped in between a rock and a hard place, Sin and Macarona and her own fear. Either she follow GriRea's order and fight, thus angering those two, or she break down and tell the truth to embarrass herself. It was the most difficult decision to make between two choices that had cataclysmic consequences.

"Well, Reficul, I'm waiting," GriRea demanded, holding the palm of her right hand out to hit it with her fan to emphasize that time was up. "This is your last chance: evidence or a duel?"

Reficul could not believe this was happening. She was about to raise her hands up and hold her head in them to ponder how she could get out of this situation when someone spoke up. "I can provide the proof you seek, Your Majesty." And that someone just had to be Macarona.

"Oh, is that so, angel?" Her Highness inquired curiously, wondering why she had evidence to prove the validity of Reficul's response when she had demanded it from the Devil herself.

"Indeed, I have brought it with me, though I must return to the room Lil and I share as it is in there with my things," Macarona explained briefly. "If you'll excuse me, Your Majesty, I shall fetch it posthaste." This solution only confused Reficul and made Lil and Rosaliya wonder what it was, whereas Sin and Rane had a good idea of what the angel referred to despite not speaking up. In any case, her offer pleased GriRea since the Queen nodded to give her assent.

"Very well, you may go retrieve it."

"As you command, Your Highness," Macarona stood and bowed before leaving the room. "My apologies, Ms. Reficul, Sin," she added while beginning to saunter out.

"It is alright, Macarona, we understand," Sin remarked without smiling, leading Reficul to suspect something fishy was going on and she didn't know about it. What were they talking about?

She was about to find out when Macarona returned a few minutes later with a book in hand, and Reficul's eyes widened in shock when she saw that it was none other than the manuscript, the very same book the young angel was writing about Clarabella's Museum of Arts and Crafts and a conspiracy that place was involved in. "W-what are you doing with that b-book?" the Devil asked, terrified of what Macarona just handed to GriRea as the Queen finally sat down by Rosaliya to see it for herself. Yet nobody answered her. Lil and Rosaliya certainly saw it was a book, and pondered what it was about. Sin and Rane already knew the answer to that, but still kept silent with Macarona since the three of them were all aware of what was going to happen. Yet the snake demon and the angel didn't bother to consider helping Reficul get out of this mess, and Rane was still unsure. The Queen merely examined the cover quietly, looking it over and reading the description on the back.

"Summarize this manuscript, angel," she instructed Macarona to explain it.

"As you wish," the young angel willingly conceded. "Many, many years ago, angels fought with demons in my world as the common rule of natural law we're all aware of. During one battle in particular which the angels won, an important angel named Clarabella who headed engineering for the war effort discovered a lot of the animatronic weapons she constructed malfunctioned. That made them run amok, and although they still knew the angels were allies, their attacks on demons were far more horrible than what the demons could've ever done. In the aftermath of that battle, a baby demon was found to be the only survivor and she took it upon herself to save the child; partly because of what happened, but her occupation left her with no time for children. Furthermore, she was also the sole survivor of her family as her husband died in battle; through my recent research, I have also discovered through medical records from the time that Clarabella was also infertile."

"That must've been quite a sacrifice on her part," Rosaliya commented in admiration.

Macarona nodded. "It was, and Miss Etihw kept it a secret to help her. Unfortunately, one of the angels' mages, Germain, discovered it too and blackmailed them into putting Project Dynol Peiriant into operation. It was a project designed to surgically place the hearts of angels into those animatronics. A brave angelic warrior named Leonidas was going to be a test subject for the idea, but an incident known as the Theft of Donations took place when donations from one of the church sectors were taken to fund this project. Cleopatra, a healer from that sector, was sent to investigate, but she was killed to cover up Project Dynol Peiriant's existence. Another angel named Robin also found out, but she sided with Miss Etihw and Clarabella and helped them by spying on Germain."

"So all three were caught and had their hearts implanted in robots, right?" Lil asked.

"Leonidas died in battle, the same one which Clarabella's husband died in; however, Robin and Cleopatra were captured and slain by Germain. He died along the way as well, so he provided his own heart to the project too. Records of his research show he was concerned with death as one purpose of Project Dynol Peiriant was to prolong his life and give him immortality. However, he'd also wanted to protect the traditional values of his people, namely hatred angels and demons have for each other's respective side. Not only did he create animatronics of himself and the other three angels, but he also planned to betray Clarabella and Miss Etihw by developing animatronics of the two of them as well as kill them. Project Dynol Peiriant failed nevertheless since he hadn't counted on how the spirits of the three slain angels would be angry towards him in death, and they fought him. The conflict between them all produced a Cyfuno Gwirodydd, an amalgamated spirit."

"So everyone died?" Rane inquired.

"A lot of the angels involved such as another one called Hastur escaped. Clarabella, shamed by what she had been blackmailed into, committed suicide a couple years later. The war was over two years prior to her death, and Miss Etihw followed her instructions to leave the baby demon in the care of a nice family. Fast forward to the present day and the Museum of Arts and Crafts which Clarabella once owned was given to Xerxes, my boss when I was a part time night guard. He had become the curator when Mr. Averniche, a descendant of an angel from the project, retired. Mr. Averniche knew the four animatronics used in the museum were from the project and were also dangerous, yet he allowed them to remain there where they'd kill innocent people while trying to escape the museum; he even kept tapes of their deaths, though he was arrested later. I've worked there as a part time night guard for a week as I said, though I also helped Crona along with her uncle, Mr. Flavio—though it was mostly Crona and I—uncover the conspiracy. At the end of the endeavor, I discovered that she is the direct descendant of the baby demon Clarabella saved."

"Wow, sounds like an intriguing mystery," Lil commented.

"Indeed," Macarona agreed. "That was partly why I got into it, though I also wanted to do something to help our world. And so, after a brief conflict between Germain's animatronic—which the other three angelic animatronics helped out in, I should add to their credit—we put a stop to it. The conspiracy was finally revealed, and everything has worked out in the end. Crona got to meet the spirit of her mother who died having discovered what happened, and Clarabella's spirit too."

"Oh, what a happy ending to such a tragic mystery!" Rane remarked, glad things went well.

"It certainly was," her angelic friend nodded in agreement, but then frowned, "though I've received a warning from Robin's spirit about another demon when I reunited her with Miss Grora, an angel who works in the castle and was also involved in the mission Robin was captured on. She told us this demon wasn't one of Kcalb's and that the demon wore a white cloak and had reflective abilities. Since I'm here, would it be alright if I ask if any of you happen to know such a demon?"

"I don't know a demon of any sort personally, though I won't deny the possibility whoever it was could've come from one of our worlds," Rosaliya commented as the others put forth their assurances that they too didn't know that demon and conceding the same point.

"I see, but thank you for the answers. Hopefully the demon won't attack or is long gone by now," came an optimistic reply of thanks from the angel as GriRea cleared her throat after having heard all she had to relate concerning the book. The fact she began to speak up only placed Reficul on the edge of her seat. Thankfully a maid had delivered a tea set for everyone at this point, though the Devil's fear regarding Macarona and what she'd show regarding their…unpleasant interaction within the museum kept her from drinking it even when everyone else accepted it. Macarona was grateful for the tea since she could let her throat rest from having given that lecture about the book. "My apologies for spoiling the book I'm writing," she apologized to them, "but let us proceed."

"Indeed, so where in this manuscript is the proof regarding Reficul's answer?" Her Majesty asked while removing a pair of reading glasses from within her sleeve. Why she carried them there was a mystery as well, though a minor one compared to Macarona's exposition. She put them on.

"Here, Your Highness, I shall open up to the first of two pages that mention it," Macarona said while standing up after taking a few sips of refreshing green tea for her throat and taking back the manuscript to get to one of the very pages she referred to. Sitting back down, she and the others watched as GriRea skimmed through the page the angel directed her to. Silence abounded as each of them drank their tea. Reficul was still an exception since she had tensed up, desperately pleading with fate to secure the Queen's understanding and also for an end to this trial. Her Majesty too had also not taken up her own teacup again despite having already finished the first portion as she was in need of both hands to hold the book and trace a finger over the words. It was a tense scene as if everyone was waiting for something unexpected to happen which would surprise them all. Reficul was literally begging fate not to see herself get tarnished by that manuscript, crossing her arms and shivering violently with all eyes on Her Highness as they waited for her reaction; she realized there could've been a strict judgment from her, though that didn't worry her more than the fear.

And yet it appeared that unexpected surprise came sooner than everyone expected in what could've been called a shocking twist that actually did live up to that objective by shocking them. GriRea, having read through the entire page, smiled softly at first…and then suddenly laughed out loud. Her reaction was so unreal that everybody stared at her through wide eyes as the Queen tried to control herself and eventually succeeded after what might've been ten minutes of pure laughter. "Ah," she breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the good laugh, "that was pretty hilarious, I should say." She turned towards the angel and smiled at her. "The second page, if you'd please." Reficul's eyes were literally bulging out of their sockets and her mouth was agape; the Queen wanted more!?

"A-ah, sure, of course, Your Majesty!" Macarona spoke up, trying to quickly recover with the others from what they all just saw. She hastily rushed to flip to the other page she spoke of, yet was careful enough not to knock anything over. Luckily she didn't, though that second page would further damage Reficul's reputation amongst Sin's friends. The poor Devil's lip quivered just like her whole body, and she slowly curled up in on herself to whimper. Her whole face turned red due to how embarrassed she was, having been made a fool of in front of Her Majesty who surprisingly took pleasure in laughing at her misfortune, plus tears of emotional stress appeared in her eyes. As there was nothing left for her to do, Reficul just remained seated in the fetal position while GriRea just continued to laugh at her misfortune on the other page, enjoying Macarona's rage towards her.

Once all was well said and done—even though nobody else still said anything for ten more minutes or so yet again—GriRea closed her eyes and sighed again, smiling harmoniously. "Never in all my life have I ever known the joy of laughter until reading this brief material," Her Majesty remarked while all of the others gradually calmed themselves and listened to her final verdict. She turned towards Macarona again and smiled warmly at her. "Though it was only a mere morsel for just two pages, the content was nevertheless satisfactory from my perspective." GriRea sat straight while making direct eye contact with the angel. "Congratulations, Macarona, you pass. You're the first of several to have impressed me above all others who made it as far by surpassing them."

Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Macarona merely smiled and giggled, thankful for the Queen's approval. "Why thank you so much, Your Majesty. I appreciate it." With that said, all of the others began to offer her their congratulations as well. Only Reficul stayed silent still, thinking only of how humiliating this whole procedure was for her and wishing it could've gone differently.

…

"D-dammit…" Ushio growled in anger, irritated by how painful the physical wounds to his body were as he hobbled along the forest path back to the train station. Minutes ago he had checked for his wallet to find some change, not that he gave a shit since he still didn't plan on paying for a simple train ride back to the city. He had cursed his own bad luck then when he realized it fell out of his pocket when that angel and the demon tossed him out of the keep. "D-damn…just when this day couldn't get any worse…" First getting his ass kicked by a little angelic girl, then being made a fool out of in front of her and those other women with her, including Rane, Reficul, and Sin, and now he was forced to walk the path in pain after the Queen injured him severely and gave an order to have him dishonorably discharged from the army. This just wasn't his day; had he known what the Devil was going through, he probably would've been glad for the extra miserable company as a way of comparing himself to her in the hope she got off worse than him so he could laugh at her.

A few twigs broke behind him as he heard the sound of three pairs of footsteps come from within the trees around him. He turned just as the solitary trio emerged out of the trees and started to surround him. "Well, well, look what we have here. An imbecilic demon all by himself," stated one who taunted him as the other two laughed. "And he's in grave pain as well; an easy catch."

"Shall we kill him?" another asked.

"No, let's take pleasure in slowly torturing him for amusement," the third suggested.

"An excellent idea!" the first agreed with the second also nodding.

Ushio grimaced, not liking the sound of this. He knew they were angels from their scent as he had fought off plenty in the several conflicts he took part in against Elux's forces. Perhaps Elux planned yet another invasion, or perhaps an assassination of Reficul and her family. He might not have been that smart, though he knew these guys were bad business. Weighing his options, he had considered fighting them off as best he could in spite of his wounds and then running back to warn the Devil and everyone else of the threat—maybe he could turn them against the angelic girl there. That could certainly earn him his military status back, though he also thought about collaborating with them on the flipside; his injuries were bad, and he absolutely hated Reficul and her family. It wasn't just the fact they followed the order to dishonorably discharge him and remove every honor he earned for his service; it was also because they refused to let him do whatever he wanted in the thick of combat and have fun massacring angelic soldiers. It sounded like a better option, so Ushio went with it, smiling and holding up shaky hands of defense to make his case.

"What the hell do you think is so funny, demon?" the third angel spat out coldly.

"R-relax, I-I'm not your enemy," the cow demon murmured, trying to dissuade them from killing him before they heard his proposal. "F-for now, anyway. I-I've got a little propositi—" Yet he couldn't finish that statement because he suddenly felt a searing pain in his leg since something pierced it fast and hard, splitting through the tendons and ligaments in his kneecap and forcing him to the ground. Reeling in pain and screaming loudly, he felt the fresh wound and realized it began to bleed out of a hole in both sides of the leg, front and back. He didn't even see a projectile.

"Disobeying orders again," another figure leapt to the ground behind him and approach the spot where he stood, her voice coming across as threatening to them since she directed the critical tone at the other angels who appeared to be her subordinates. Ushio slowly looked back at her, but could not make out who she was since this other angel was cloaked and stood in the shadows of a small cliff as the rain sluiced down her figure. "That's also going in the report, just so you morons know. Judging by all the mistakes you've all made, punishment is a docked pay or a demotion."

"C-captain, p-please wait, it's not what you think!" the second pleaded with her in defense.

"Y-yeah, we were going to bring him back to camp!" the first conceded in agreement.

"Liars." The word came out coldly, like this rain which fell from the clouds as she lowered her weapon of choice to her side. It was a customized sniper rifle, one with a circular piece usually found as a part of revolvers where the bullets went in addition to a silencer and an enhanced scope. "Again, your communicators are still on, and I could even hear you from up above without having to use them. I watched your movements though my scope as you approached the target with intent to kill. Slay him and our mission is automatically jeopardized, and you'll be responsible for it."

"S-sorry," one of the other angels apologized with his comrades before she gave an order.

"Just take him to camp for interrogation," she commanded them and then averted her gaze to Ushio. "My apologies for the wound; you're a known threat who could've tricked them into the deal you wished to make to get close and attack them. They do deserve it for not following orders, however, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and hear you out later, understand?"

"B-but Captain—"

"No buts, now move! On the double, men!"

Ushio growled, wondering just who this other angel was. She was definitely their superior, but who exactly was she? It was no use thinking of her identity at the moment as they'd bring him to wherever they had set up camp. The fact they were coming across as discreet probably meant a stealth mission was in progress and he happened to walk right in on it. It really wasn't his day.

…

 **Success! Macarona passed the test to ingratiate herself with GriRea!**

 **There's also the matter of the last main character whose identity I'll reveal in the next chapter. Which angel shall it be: Mercury, Sol, or Luna? Look forward to finding out.**


	5. Chapter Five: An Unexpected Guest

They had dumped him in an old, dilapidated garage ruined by time. This place was once a ranch in the distant past when livestock would roam this acre surrounded by trees as ranchers made commodities from their trade and raised said animals. Now it was only a memory, a reminder of a place left behind by a time when Reficul fell from Elux's heaven, becoming a demon prior to rising to prominence as a Devil. The location was a prime hangout for rogues and thieves who plied their trade in the underworlds' black market, selling stolen goods which even included full cadavers of those who had died and various kinds of drugs, weapons, and armor available from these regions. Ushio had purchased a few items from this shady business through Alibe, one of the prime dealers and patrons of the black market, not to mention a shrewd client of Warwick, the Devil who owned the entire enterprise and managed it from his own underworld. The black market was his system of governance; no politics were needed since he had the money to fund it, and money was the only driving force of his underworld. It was illegal in all the underworlds, save for his because GriRea issued a proclamation stating he was forbidden by law to internationalize it.

Nobody involved with the black market was here, so these angels established a camp which consisted of a small squad. Five angels alone were in it; three soldiers, a healer, and the captain. It wasn't the largest force for a project like this, though it certainly helped in stealth missions. There was apparently an air of displeasure from the captain with her subordinates, disliking how they all didn't listen to instructions and follow orders. She had gone out with the four men to lecture them on proper procedures and chide them for their disregard for safety and superiors. The cow demon's wounds still hurt and he paid more attention to them than their conversation, so he couldn't garner the captain's name. However, they all entered again with her approaching him.

"What, you want to kill me or make that deal with me?" he asked suspiciously, his tone of voice tinged with bitter frustration because he hated how they treated him.

"You are in no position to deliver terms of any sort," the captain commented blandly while crossing her arms across the dark Kevlar-like armor she wore with a gray mask over her face and the dark blue, hooded cloak hanging from her back. The mask's distinguishing feature was the pair of eyeholes that kept Ushio from seeing her eyes. Her sniper rifle was slung to her back, a pistol hanging from a sheath attached to her belt. "I'll be the one who tells you what to do in exchange for what we shall provide you first: our healer will restore you to full health and we'll release you once this interrogation is done." Her inferior officers objected to that, displeased with her lenience towards this demon because of the fact he was a demon, but also for safety concerns as well.

"But captain," the healer protested, "he could fight us off and escape after he's healed!"

"We heal him first, that's my order. Failure to comply will lead to the exact same charge I will levy against you as I've already done to the others. My command stands firm, now heal him."

He sighed. "Yes, captain," he replied reluctantly, begrudgingly following the order. He had held out a staff with four yellow rods on it with a green orb held in the center by all of them. Light emitted from the staff and blanketed the cow demon who immediately began to feel the effects of the healing and quickly recovered. All his injuries were healed, and he felt his wrists while looking at the captain with a smile, grateful for the aid she had given him in spite of her soldiers' scorn. It was odd for an angel to be nice like this—reminding him of Macarona—but a deal was a deal.

"Heh, thanks, you're not as bad as I originally thought," he remarked gratefully.

"You are quite welcome," the captain commented and bowed respectfully, showing him a good display of proper manners prior to progressing on with the interrogation. "Now then, here is what we'd like from you: knowledge of who else is at the keep and why they attended. We've had the place under watch and saw you leaving it, following your trail until my men and I ambushed you. That's all we require of you before your release. It's not much, but at least tell all you know."

Ushio thought about it for a few moments before deciding to comply with his own term. "I appreciate the healing, but I still don't trust you angels. Take off that mask, then we'll talk alone."

One of the soldiers opened his mouth to object, but the captain raised an arm to silence his protest. "Fair enough," she commented and pulled down the cloak to show red hair done up into a ponytail with a white bow holding it up and two hair clips in one of her bangs in the shape of a X. Then she took the mask off to reveal a pure white face with bright blue eyes staring at him. Angels had halos, but she and her men didn't wear theirs likely because they wanted to be stealthy. "Well," the captain went on, making eye contact with the cow demon, "shall we begin, Colonel Ushio?"

"I'm to be dishonorably discharged," he admitted bitterly and leaned against the wood wall. Shutting his eyes momentarily while saying that, he opened them again to examine this angel who stood before him. "Yet how the hell do you know my name, angel? Answer me that and give your own since that has now started to make me distrust you lot more." Surprisingly enough, he stayed composed in spite of his usual brash demeanor. He was outnumbered and wanted a deal, after all.

Although her subordinates attempted to protest, she turned to them and gave an order. "You are all to remove your communicators and hand them over to me before stepping outside to patrol the perimeter. That's an order." Her tone was icy and it clearly demonstrated she was in command since they hesitantly obeyed. They did as they were told and left their captain and Ushio in private before she turned back to him with a small smile. "There, you have one term achieved; as for that other one, I know of you through intelligence reports on Reficul's army personal. You're quite the barbarian—no offense, Colonel—though you were dishonorably discharged for whatever you did, I shall still respect you by referring to your former rank." She bowed humbly before him as she introduced herself. "My name is Mercury, Head of Engineering, Cyber Electronics, and Security."

"A jack of all trades, huh?" Ushio asked, somehow amused by how much she juggled.

Mercury's smiled widened slightly. "One who has actually mastered all. I assure you, I'm more than what I have confirmed myself to be, Colonel; though I'm glad you recognize me as one whose talents can be put to good use." She was thankful to have put him at ease, but now Mercury needed the information from his end. "Shall we get down to business, then, Colonel?"

The cow demon shrugged, deciding he might as well follow through on his end of the deal. He wanted to strike a bargain and he got it, so it was only fair he contributed his share. "Fine," he remarked with a smile, "what do you want to know again? Remind me of your objective here."

"To acquire data on whoever's at the keep and analyze their role in coming to this world."

"And assassinate the whole lot of those women?" Ushio smiled sadistically.

Mercury sighed, evidently unsatisfied with that inquiry. "I personally do not wish to, but I have no choice in the matter. Lady Elux has ordained me as the head assassin, knowing fully well I sympathize with Reficul's decision and hold nothing against her for it. We've served the people well, though she could no longer stand Elux's hold on our people and resigned."

The cow demon shrugged again, shutting his eyes before opening them. "Like I give a shit about her and whoever the hell she associates with. You want to know about the guests, fine, let's get this over with," he commented and then briefly explained who the guests were. "An odd bunch of girls they've got there at the keep. You seem to know the family, so I'm guessing you also know about their adopted spider demon daughter, Rane; she's not much since she's a seamstress. There's also two other demons I don't know, but the final two are…shall we say, unique."

"In what regard?"

Ushio's grin widened. "One of them is the Queen herself."

Mercury tensed up, but remained stoic nonetheless. She was disturbed by the fact a poised demon of high nobility in the underworlds, particularly a ruler who had more power than the Devils and resided in Satanick's underworld, was attending whatever affair was going on. The fact it was Her Highness threw a wrench in the plan because their chances of success were now slim, difficult to determine overall. Nonetheless, she remained composed and urged the cow demon on. "If Her Majesty, Queen GriRea has been invited, surely she must have an entourage of sorts. Those other two demons, describe them for me, please. I'd like to know who they are to determine what to do."

"One was some child in pink, and the other was some bitch who shot hair bats at me."

"A child in pink…I don't know that one," Mercury admitted, placing a bent finger onto her chin while pondering the identity of that individual. "The other one I'm guess would be Lil. She's Satanick's wife, and I suppose she must've been granted the privilege of joining Her Highness."

"Whatever, but get this," Ushio smirked, ready to lay down quite a surprise. "They've also got an angel in their mix too, one from another world." He chuckled at her surprised expression.

"An angel? Do you know her name? From which world does she hail?"

"The Gray Garden. Goes by the name of Macarona, or something. She kicked my ass back at the train station and I went over for revenge, but it seems she's become ingratiated with everyone else there. They kicked me out and the Queen ordered for me to be dishonorably discharged." With a small sigh, he approached her cautiously. "Look, that's all I know. Can I go now? I'm not needed here anymore, and I'd rather not stick around in case anyone else shows up."

Mercury managed to regain her composure and nodded. "Yes, very well, that'll be all. You may leave; I'd keep you longer until we could verify your account, though I'd rather not. You have stayed true to your word and I shall fulfill mine. Come," she said and lead him out into the rain as she put her hood back up and turned to the cow demon. "You're free to go, and as an added bonus, we'll not reveal your identity to Reficul and Sin in the event we fail our mission." It was the least she could do for his aid, however small it was. Nonetheless, they made a deal and Mercury decided to sweeten it in appreciation. He didn't give enough information, but it was critical all the same.

"Sure, thanks," Ushio remarked and walked off, halting and then whirling around when he heard the sound of an arrow nocked in a bow behind him. Yet he also heard a gunshot and couldn't believe his eyes. The sound of it echoed throughout the area, and the other soldiers patrolling near the ranch looked in its direction and caught sight of their captain holding her pistol at pointblank range. Yet she wasn't aiming at the demon who was actually unharmed considering what occurred. The soldier guarding the gate tried to kill him, but Mercury shot a bullet at the wall by his head. A hole stood where it made contact, having grazed the soldier's mask to scare him into submission. He nervously lowered the bow and removed the arrow, afraid of Mercury's speed with her pistol and the coldhearted gaze in her eyes which terrified him more. Apparently her authority over them not only included verbalized threats, but actual force if they disobeyed her and tried to go against protocol as well. Despite the fierce nature of her skills, Mercury was actually a calm angel.

"Sorry about that, Colonel," Mercury apologized as she holstered the pistol. "You can go."

"Uh, sure, thanks," the cow demon repeated, amazed by how skilled she was as he left.

…

"You were simply amazing, Macarona! Making a good first impression on the Queen while giving her such a laugh I've never heard from her!" Lil remarked, laughing happily as she laid on the bed besides Macarona while the angel tuned her guitar to prepare for the musical encore which would end the evening. "Man, that Reficul! Making herself out to be such a petty felon! She must have spent some time in a prison cell waiting for her bail to be paid! Was that why Sin visited the Gray Garden? To free ol' Reficul from imprisonment before or after the trial?"

"No, she wasn't arrested," Macarona affirmed for her, checking the strings. "Ms. Reficul's only had to apologize to my boss for trespassing, Miss Etihw for the black eye, and finally myself for the broken cellphone which she destroyed. She still had to pay for the new one."

"Ah, now that truly would've been a laugh! I'd have loved to see that!"

"I suppose you would've," GriRea remarked from her seat at the table in the room the other two shared. "Though to be fair, I must admit I would too now that I know another facade. Reficul's a good Devil, to be sure, but can be so predictable at times that the meetings with her have become rather boring." She sighed and leaned back in her seat, listening to the angel practice strumming a few notes on her instrument to check the tuning of it. "It was such a pleasant surprise, Macarona."

"I'm sure it was, Your Majesty," the angel responded with a smile. "I was pretty surprised myself when the tables turned like that in our interaction at the museum. I'm usually quite the shy one at times like that, though I do admit what happened has given me a great boost of confidence, just like when I had given a severe beating to one of the demons under Ivlis' command."

"Well, you can thank Reficul for that," Lil commented, sitting up with a hand by her right ear since she could hear bickering out in the hall and paid close attention to it, quietly holding one finger to her lips to shush them both while quietly getting off the bed and tiptoeing over to the wall and listening through it. "I think I can hear her now. She's out there with Sin. Quiet, ladies."

"B-but S-Sin, p-please, I-I knew it wasn't a good idea to invite her!" That was Reficul.

"Absolutely not, Refi! I'm through with you whining about how Macarona shouldn't stay! You've upset us both before, and I'm not tolerating any more complaining from you! All I ask you to do is stay calm around her without doing anything to anger her, but now you've just had to make me mad too! This is your fault, Refi, and you had better apologize to her, now!"

"N-no, S-Sin, p-please, I-I can't do it! W-what if she rejects it?!" the Devil panicked.

"Then that's her decision to make! You may be the Devil, but Macarona is my friend! I'm not kicking her out just because you're so scared of her you can't even be around her! All you had to do was make a simple statement! How hard does that have to be when you spoke with the Queen dozens of times on official business?! She made numorous requests and inquired for other remarks from you too, including your stance on certain matters; it should not be so difficult coming up with a simple statement concerning why Macarona should stay!" Sin shouted in anger, displeased with Reficul's actions earlier during the test GriRea had given the angel to prove her worth.

"T-that was official business, Sin! This is informal and I-I didn't get a chance to prepare!"

"Nobody else did either and we all did perfectly well, but you had to be the difficult one!"

"H-her Majesty already had a majority ruling!"

"That's not the point, Refi, and you know it! You were given an order from the Queen and tried to avoid it! You had to make things difficult for yourself! It's nobody's fault but your own! You've tried to disobey Her Highness and have also upset both of us: Macarona and myself as well by claiming she doesn't belong here all because you're so afraid of upsetting her!"

"B-but it's t-true, s-she doesn't! S-She's an angel!" Reficul kept trying to make her case as she continued to fail in that endeavor. "B-besides, she'd be better off s-staying home instead!"

"Enough, Refi! I will not hear another word of this! You get in there now and apologize to Macarona! I don't care if you tried to phrase it politely; you just don't want her here so you won't have to feel so frightened of her! That not only upsets me, but her as well because of your childish behavior around her! You can very well behave around her without messing anything up, and you are quite capable of apologizing to her when she gets mad because of something you've done!"

"I-I c-can't I-I—"

"You can, you will, you are, and you shall!" Sin screamed at her one more time as she took the doorknob by force and yanked it open. "Now get in there and say you're sorry!" She was quite livid with Reficul for what happened since the snake demon's face was red with anger, the emotion also expressed in her eyes as she glowered at the Devil while shoving her into the room.

"S-Sin, w-wait, p-please—" Reficul tried rationalizing with her, but Sin slammed the door in her face, leaving Reficul alone with Macarona—or so she thought, since the Devil had not seen Lil and GriRea in there yet. She raised an arm and made a fist, resting it against the door while she began to whimper, closing her eyes and putting her temple up against it too. "W-why me?"

GriRea smirked as Lil joined her at the table and sat down beside her. "Well, Reficul, what do you have to say for yourself?" she inquired, making Reficul jump in fright and whirl around.

"Y-your M-Majesty, Lil?! W-wha—"

"I share this room with Macarona, remember," Lil teased her with a playful reminder.

"And we heard every word," Her Highness added mockingly, participating in the taunt.

The two of them chuckled as Macarona laid her guitar on the bed and got off it, ambling to the Devil to stare directly at her with a look of disapproval. Reficul squeaked fearfully and backed closer against the door, the knob protruding into her lower back. _"Indeed, Ms. Reficul,"_ she spoke up with venom applied in her voice, indicating she was seething inside despite being a little calmer on the outside even though her face darkened. Her ire terrified the Devil and she took a step closer and got right in her face. _"I do not appreciate being discriminated against simply because I'm an angel, nor do I like being cast out for that either. I can understand you are afraid of me, but that is the poorest excuse I've ever heard for wanting me gone. If you've got problems with me being here, speak directly to my face now; though that shall not change anything since I'm still staying as Sin invited me. Otherwise do as Sin said and apologize, and we'll see if I accept your apology based on how it comes across to me. Have I made myself clear, Ms. Reficul?"_

Poor Reficul whimpered timidly as Her Majesty and Lil both giggled, enjoying their show. It was like watching a play of real characters acting out live scenes, and the two of them had front row seats to observe the action. Although the Devil would've appreciated it if they both left, there wasn't anything she could do about it. Macarona was waiting for an apology, and Reficul was not in any position to request for privacy so she could give it to the angel—or at least try to. Breathing heavily, the Devil felt her heart race as she turned ashen, feeling helpless as Macarona was getting impatient with her since she didn't tolerate how Reficul was totally opposed to her staying here.

 _"Are you going to answer me, or not, Ms. Reficul?"_

Reficul squeaked again. "A-ah, s-s-sorry, b-b-but, you really s-shouldn't be here!" she had cried out, uncertain whether she really intended to say that or not. It was just blurted out without a thought of clarity to determine whether it was proper of her to make that poor choice of words.

 _"And why's that?"_ Macarona asked, the venom dripping heavily from her voice which was flooded with the poisonous distaste for the Devil's lack of etiquette and decorum. _"Is it because I am an angel you're so afraid of that you don't want me around? Am I not allowed to have fun with you all by meeting others from other worlds and learning more about them while interacting with them too? Is that it, Ms. Reficul? That you would prefer excluding me from the activities all so you can maintain a grip on your sanity and dignity?"_ Her accuracy was even scarier than Lil's mainly due to the poison in her voice, and each shot dealt more damage because the angel was correct.

"I-I-I, u-uh, u-um…" Reficul stammered out stuttered murmurs of terror, unable to handle the fright any longer. "P-p-please excuse me!" In a frantic dash to escape, Reficul seized the knob and threw the door open right into an irritated Sin who stood at the threshold to prevent her escape. The snake demon caught it before the door smashed into her and held it aside, fuming because the apology she had angrily told the Devil to give was wasted just like that. Unfortunately for Reficul, she couldn't get out of this easily and shrieked again when she saw Sin. "A-a-ah, S-S-Sin, I-I—" the Devil yelped in fear as Rane and Rosaliya opened the door of the former's old bedroom to see what was going on as Reficul continued to helplessly stammer timidly. "I-I-I'm s-so s-sorry, I-I-I didn't know you were t-there, I-I-I—" Yet her voice died completely when Sin interrupted her.

"You'd apologize to me, but not to Macarona! Shame on you, Refi, I trusted you could do it and you're trying to back out of it so soon!" she shouted at the Devil, her own rage making Rane close the door so she and the other Devil wouldn't interrupt them. "I could hear every word through the door, and I am very unhappy with you for not immediately apologizing like I told you to! Now say you're sorry to Macarona this instant!" Seizing the Devil and violently whirling her around to face Macarona, the snake demon grabbed Reficul by the hair which garnered a squeak of pain from her as Sin held her head down. "Apologize to her, now, Refi!" she added crossly.

"A-a-ah, I-I-I'm s-s-sorry! I-it won't happen again!" Reficul murmured in fright before Sin let her go so the Devil could flee, bolting away in sheer panic while the snake demon bowed before Macarona to apologize for what had happened tonight concerning the test after she knocked on the other door so Rosaliya and Rane could hear it as well in addition to Lil and GriRea.

"I'm truly sorry for Refi's behavior, everyone, chiefly towards you, Macarona," she stated humbly with an apologetic frown. "I'm afraid part of the responsibility is on my shoulders too, for I had left Refi a note regarding who would come—everyone except for you, Your Majesty; again, I apologize for that too—with the dates of this weekend, though she had accidently shredded that. I have requested that she behave appropriately tonight, but unfortunately it seemed she believed it was a little too much to handle, what with my decision to invite Macarona over—sorry, dearie."

"It's quite alright, Sin, I don't mind too much, but I do hope she behaves herself," Macarona remarked with an understanding smile. "I'm just glad she apologized, even if it was forced; though I should also apologize for having been cross with her. I hope it doesn't scar her too badly."

"Thank you, Macarona, I appreciate that and I'm sure Refi does too. To be fair, you weren't wrong in feeling that way, so our tones were pretty justified in that regard," Sin smiled, grateful to have such a sweet angel for a friend. Yet her smile turned into a frown again when she caught the snickering coming from behind the angel. "Please, don't laugh," she requested politely. "Pardon a bit of bluntness on my part, Your Majesty, Lil, but how would you both like it someone made fun of you simply for being afraid?" It was a good question, one which made them concede the point.

"Fair enough," GriRea nodded from her seat. "My apologies, for it could not be helped."

"Same here," Lil remarked in agreement, "but I would just beat the shit out of the person."

"I should hope not, and I'm certain everyone feels the same by agreeing with me," Rosaliya commented critically, disliking the demon's penchant for resorting to violence to defend herself if ever placed in such a situation similar to the problems Reficul caused. "Nonetheless, this does not bother me too much seeing how I was not party to the issue despite having seen it, so an apology's not necessary towards me unless you happen to be apologizing for how the evening turned out, in which case I forgive you since it was an unintended consequence that just happened."

"Yeah," Rane added with a small smile. "I do not know if this will help either you both or Reficul, but I was conflicted over what to do which is why I stayed out of it."

"It's quite alright, Rane, I understand," Sin remarked, shutting her eyes and smiling. "You had good intentions, so thank you for considering how all three of us felt into consideration."

"Now then, with that said and done, might I inquire when we'll playing our instruments?" Rosaliya asked, deciding to change the subject to a more pleasant one. "My ocarina's ready, and I am also looking forward to listening to you, Rane, and Macarona use your own respectively."

Sin smiled. "In just a little bit; I've got to speak with Refi for a few minutes, but I'll be by to gather you all up so we may proceed to the living room once I'm done. Be right back," she said and slithered away as Rane shut the door after remarking that she also wanted to hear them play.

Releasing a small breath of fresh air, Macarona went back to checking her guitar while Lil chuckled mischievously. "More like scold her for bad behavior," she commented which made the Queen lightly smack her with the fan despite being unable to suppress a chuckle of her own.

"Do play nice, Lil," GriRea issued a small command and cast a look of amusement over to Macarona. "It isn't proper to laugh at the misfortune of others, isn't that right, Macarona."

"Indeed," the angel agreed with a slight giggle, noting that Her Majesty purposely giggled too mainly because she had come to enjoy her time here and wished she could escape the confines of work and other means of relaxation more often. It was a good way of getting away from having to maintain authority over the underworlds she ruled over, so she would have to make contact with one of them concerning when she could possibly join them like this again.

"Pot calling the kettle black!" Lil retorted playfully to tease the Queen, receiving a second light smack from the fan. She still chuckled all the same before turning to Macarona when an idea came to her. "Hey, Macarona, why don't you join my Network of Peers to stay connected with us? Exchange numbers with me so I can add you into the system. I'd so love to have you join it!"

"That sounds interesting," Macarona commented with a small smile. "What's the Network of Peers, may I ask? Is it an association of your closest friends, Lil?"

The demon nodded. "Sure is, though it's kind of a small group. The only members I've got are Sin, Rane, and Rosaliya, so you'll be the newest fourth addition to my gang! What do you say? Come join us, it'll be fun; it's just us talking to one another over a privately secure network I have set up with the aid of an associate of my underworld's witch. We plan get-togethers over it."

"A privately secure network?" Macarona inquired curiously. "Why is that?"

"Mostly because I don't want my dipshit husband finding out; he'll ruin things, saying I'm not allowed to because I'm supposed to stay put and not have friends. Bah! Let him rot in hell for all I care," Lil explained briefly before returning to the main thread of her subject. "Anyway, I set it up for us with help like I said, and I'd love to get more members involved. It's a special network since it's composed of connections to a Devil—Rosaliya—and three demons related to Devils—I am one, and so are Rane and Sin. We're the twice aforementioned members. I've tried to get Her Majesty to join, but she isn't convinced of its security as the witch is allied with my dipshit husband and not to me even though she pointed me to another witch for the idea. I hope the Queen joins to make it more regal, though you'll be the first ordinary citizen in this prestigious club."

Macarona put a bent finger to her chin as she considered the offer before reaching a choice. "I appreciate the offer," she remarked with a small smile of gratitude, "though I agree the concern with its security is a valid point. Although I would love to join, the fact that witch is an ally of your husband worries me. My world's been through one invasion, and we certainly don't want to run a risk of falling prey to another one. Sorry for having to decline, but I hope we can still be friends."

"It's fine, you're close friends with Sin and Rane; they could invite you. You can still be a member even if you can't exchange numbers to be a part of the technical system. So how about it? Want to join in and become part of the group?" Lil asked, pleading her to join; there was plenty of hope gleaming in her eyes since she really did wish Macarona would accept.

The young angel smiled happily, shutting her eyes. "Sure, I'd love to!" she said, delighting the demon who leapt up and threw her arms around Macarona to embrace her in a cheerful hug.

…

He had overheard their conversation through a wiretap capable of hearing sound through a wall and he couldn't help but agree with them. They were right, that was funny. Listening to all of Reficul's squealing over an apparent fear she had of this angelic girl was hilarious, and he couldn't help but snicker at her misfortune. Silently, of course, considering how Mercury commanded him to be quiet when spying on them. He'd been sent alone to observe them under the command to not jeopardize the mission by giving away his position—i.e. being too loud, being seen, or disobeying her orders not to attack. The angel had to admit she could be scary after having seen her fire toward the guy who tried to kill the cow demon despite the fact she chose to fire a warning shot instead—yet the bullet was still close to him. However, he wasn't exactly breaking protocol; sure, he would attempt to assassinate all of the demons and that angelic girl in the keep on his own via stealth, but not on Mercury's orders anymore since he was following orders from Elux herself. Their Goddess was certainly going to reward him a place on her council and mastership over several departments.

Flicking the wiretap off, he unsheathed a dagger from his side and prepared to rush in when the demon girls in the room turned the lights off after leaving so he could hide in there. Then he'd slit their throats while they slept later and proceed to do the same for everyone else. It was simple.

What he hadn't realized, however, was that the girl in pink sensed a presence at the window as she was taking out an ocarina and glanced towards it. "We have company," she said in quite a bland tone which still maintained the urgency that something was going to happen.

"Hmm?" the spider demon murmured as she watched her approach the window while that angel outside realized he was caught. Yet he wasn't worried since he could rush past this girl after cutting her down in one fell swoop to permanently silence the other demon. With a wicked smirk, he waited until the window was open to burst through…when something pierced his neck and also strangled it. He couldn't breathe due to a vine from the foliage growing on the side of a keep on a fence-like structure he had scaled to get up here. His body went limp and fell to dangle in the air.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Rosaliya commented as the vine hauled his corpse up so she could examine it with a startled Rane rushing over to see the cadaver. Noticing a note within the angel's pocket while another vine brought up the weapon which had fallen from him, the Devil took it out and unfolded the paper to read the message on it before handing the slip and dagger to Rane. "Here, Rane, go inform the others we have some unexpectedly unwanted guests," Rosaliya instructed and grabbed her umbrella from where it had been leaning up against the wall.

"What are you going to do, Rosaliya? Where are you going?" the spider demon asked since she was worried for her friend because it looked like the Devil was handling this alone.

"I'm merely heading out to greet our new guests and inform them they are uninvited…the hard way." That last part sounded ominous as Rosaliya leapt out the window and strolled away as Rane watched her depart, hoping the Devil would come back. In any case, she did as she was told.

…

"Where the hell is he? He should be back by now?" An irritated Mercury inquired, pacing back and forth by the table where they set up their equipment. "I strictly ordered him to not attack under any and all circumstances. He'd better not have, otherwise the mission has failed and we are screwed once shit hits the fan." She growled as the other three watched her.

"Whoa, calm down, Captain, I'm sure he'll be back any minute now," the healer attempted to calm her despite already knowing something Mercury was unaware of on purpose. "Give him a bit more time and he'll show up eventually. You're worrying over nothing, he has this in the bag."

"Yeah," one of the other soldiers agreed. "It's a simple objective of an easy assassination."

"What could go wrong?" the third asked innocently.

"Plenty!" Mercury retorted coldly, raising her voice at them for not taking their work on a critical mission like this seriously. "If he even so much as gets caught in any way regardless of the fact he may or may not return, our mission is jeopardized because of some stupid idiot who became careless enough to give away our position! There's only five of us on this mission, but the number is irrelevant even if we lose one because they're sure to have powerful allies over there! We could most likely die before our mission is complete, not to mention the fact it would lead to war!"

"So what? Who gives a shit?" one of them inquired casually without a care in the world.

"I do! I'll not fail our people by becoming a casualty that shall inevitably spark a war! That will happen regardless of whether we succeed, but if we have any hope of success should war even break out between us and the demons, I need to be there so I can help protect our people!"

"As if, all we need is Lady Elux and everything's perfect. She can easily kill off anybody."

"Just because she's the Goddess doesn't mean shit when we've got bigger problems on our hands! The Queen of the Underworld is present in addition to guests who are likely from different underworlds as well! This mission fails and we have to fight off not just one underworld, but each and every one of them! Her Majesty alone constitutes the reason why all underworlds would come and assault us! She dies, gets, wounded, or discovers our presence, we've got every underworld at our doorstep armed to the teeth! We'd be surrounded and unable to fight off all of them since more Devils would be involved, not to mention another Goddess too since we have an angel who comes from the Gray Garden! Face the damn facts already!" Mercury continued to shout at them.

"Look, Captain, you worry too much, we'll be fine," the healer tried to reassure her as one of the detectors started beeping which got their attention. "Well, well, some poor fool just walked in of us without realizing it. I bet it's that stupid cow demon coming back to beg for his life again."

"Then what're we waiting for? Let's kill him!" another laughed with them as they strolled out confidently, expecting an easy victory. Mercury despised their enthusiasm because she knew nobody from the black market—which she was aware of through espionage because she spied on the affairs numerous times—was scheduled to come here anytime soon. Something was obviously wrong and only she was aware of it, hence why she followed them out to stop their recklessness.

A lone figure approached them carrying a pink, aristocratic umbrella over her head to keep herself shielded from the rain. Based on the appearance of this girl in pink, she looked to be a mere kid on walk through the forest without her parents. "So this is where you're all hiding?" she asked rhetorically without bothering to inquire as to whether there were more angels here. Not that they'd tell her unless they wanted to give her a scare on purpose to make her flee in terror while they gave chase and eventually slaughtered the demon after a pleasurable pursuit of amusement. "Your man at the keep served as my invitation to this meeting, though I'm afraid he can't make it."

Mercury scowled, her worst prediction having come true since she realized he was dead as the other angels with her merely laughed. "Oh, you mean that idiot? He should have known better than to give away his position so soon," one of them commented which made Mercury suspicious as to what their true objective was and whose orders they really followed. Granted, she was already aware of what they meant, so it really wasn't all that surprising to her. It happened all the time.

"So it's true then?" the girl inquired, again rhetorical with the question as her eyes glowed. "I guess this means my assumption was correct, after all. But enough with the formalities; if you're going to entertain me, you might as well begin before my patience is tried."

"With pleasure!" one the angelic soldiers shouted and rushed at her with their weapons.

"No, stop, wait!" Mercury called out to stop them as the healer joined the offensive. "You don't yet know just how strong she could be! I command you to stop and withdraw at once!"

Yet they didn't listen and just charged into the fray blindly, unaware they ran towards their own deaths. One of them fell forward into the grass as much of it accumulated on his ankles before tearing into his face and producing several gashes, all of which caused him to bleed out and die in an instant. The other soldier was caught in a storm of flowers and weeds which were like projectiles being fired into him as the earth suddenly shook and erupted to engulf him whole, crushing him in between two massive mounds of earth that also slaughtered him instantly. As for the healer, he too died when he got close and attempted to smash his staff on the girl's head to crack it open, though he was unsuccessful since massive vines from the same gaping hole the earth came from shot out, wrapping around the poor angel to engulf him too before closing in to obliterate his life.

Of the five angels who had undertaken this mission, only Mercury was left, surprised since she had not expected to encounter a demon of this caliber. She looked helplessly at the spots where her comrades died before the demon suddenly warped right in her face. Startled by her appearance there, Mercury cried out as she tripped and fell, yet the demon seized her cloak and yanked her forward so the angel was right in her face. "You must be their superior," she said, her tone of voice coldly addressing Mercury before proceeding without waiting for an answer. "It must be a terrible burden, knowing you foolishly led those men to their deaths on a futile mission for your heaven."

Faced with defeat, Mercury merely looked at the girl sadly and shut her eyes, prepared for her death too. "I concede victory to you. You may do as you wish with me. I'm at your disposal."

"So you acknowledge your failure and turn yourself in?" the demon asked rhetorically once more. "Very well then, you shall come with back to the keep. I'm sure Reficul and Sin would like to interrogate you regarding your presence here and why you hoped to interrupt our get-together."

"I see…" Mercury answered obediently and put forth a minor request. "If I may, you would not mind if I were to change into my normal attire before we head out? I shall turn over all weapons to you in addition to our armor and equipment. Does that seem fair to you?"

The demon considered it for a moment before speaking. "Fine, you may change. I will call Sin and inform her of our location so your arms and equipment can be collected as I'm alone here."

"Thank you," Mercury said respectfully while bowing in gratitude. "I appreciate it.

…

"So this is the angel responsible for leading a failed excursion into the underworld in order to assassinate Reficul?" GriRea commented rhetorically as she gazed at said angel now dressed in a white trench coat with black collars on the end of her sleeves and white buttons on them. A black belt with a white clip on it was wrapped around her waist, and she also wore a red tie over a black shirt underneath the coat with a pair of goggles hanging around her neck. Her striped tights showed the same motif of her uniform in the form of thin, vertical lines of black and white. Even her boots were white and had one winged clip each on them. She even had six wings as well.

"That would be I, Your Majesty," Mercury responded as she showed good manners to her captors by kneeling in their presence, particularly because Her Highness stood before her. It was only proper for her to display such etiquette when addressing royalty, so she acted accordingly and did not have to be told. She would've held an arm out with the other hand to her chest to complete the gesture, though her hands were tied in front of her by Rosaliya's vines. "I do not speak for the Goddess of this world, but I am most certainly sorry for ruining your evening. Any punishment or charge you see fit shall do as I am in no position to say otherwise or defend the actions of myself, my men, and the heaven we all served. Do what you will, for I am unworthy of mercy."

GriRea raised an eyebrow and turned to address Macarona. "I am sorry for suspecting you due to this recent incident, Macarona, but you and your world have nothing to do with this, right?"

The angel she spoke to bowed humbly. "I swear on my life we are not allied with this angel and the heaven she serves; however, I shall also request that Mr. Kcalb—and Miss Etihw if needed as well—send a letter to explain that we do not involve the Gray Garden in otherworldly affairs in matters pertaining to conflict of any sort and to reaffirm that we only share commercial ties with a few worlds, Your Majesty," she explained truthfully as Mercury gazed at her, knowing that Ushio was correct about this angel as she spoke up again to confirm that Macarona spoke the truth.

"Indeed, she is correct as Sin shall also tell you. Lady Elux's heaven isn't aligned with the Gray Garden; this is the first time I've ever laid my eyes on an angel from that world, but I can tell already she isn't an inhabitant of our heaven. This angel knows nothing of our mission, and neither does anyone else from her world as this was supposed to be a secret assignment. If you must show suspicion towards somebody, let it be me since I am responsible and shall accept any punishment."

"I can validate Mercury's testimony, my Queen," the snake demon defended Mercury and Macarona from the notion of having collaborated together. "Refi and I know her and the Goddess of her world personally. Elux would never accept aid from another heaven, let alone another world. Mercury is telling the truth on that matter, though I do not know why she was chosen to lead this."

"I see…" GriRea responded, recalling that Reficul had freed Sin from a monstrous prison in that heaven, an account they both related when they first met her. "In any case, this angel should be charged for attempting to instigate a war. Though I'm aware neither you nor Reficul have ever initiated one from your end and have always fought defensively, action must be taken to ensure it does not happen. Since the angel and her entourage attempted to assassinate Reficul, I suggest you hold a public execution; though you may deal with her however you wish, as it is merely an idea."

"Your Majesty!" came a voice from the second floor above them as everybody saw Reficul standing at the railing with Rane by her side. "I must ask that you retract that idea." Catching Sin's attention, she could very well see that the snake demon was glaring at her, but said nothing. She'd told Reficul before that she was to be confined to their bedroom for the rest of the night for having upset both her and Macarona and also for ruining the evening. However, Sin chose not to say what was on her mind about that now because she knew Reficul was coming to plead with the Queen to have Mercury's life spared. Coming in front of her, the Devil kneeled before GriRea and addressed her not as the Devil of this world, but as a humble servant begging for a favor. "Please, all I request is that Mercury be spared from any punishment whatsoever. I'm well aware this is treasonous, but I can most certainly assure you with solid proof that Mercury, despite being an angel in service to a Goddess who is a staunch enemy of demons, is not our enemy. Please, grant me that much."

GriRea closed her eyes and put a finger to her chin, thinking long and hard about the choice until she eventually reached a decision. "Very well, you may proceed and I shall give my judgment of this angel following your examination right here in front of us all," she instructed. "But know I am not merely granting this out of courtesy of any sort." She smiled and shut her eyes, chuckling. "Your…predicaments have been most amusing to me, hence why I'm allowing this procedure."

Reficul failed to suppress a shudder in front of Mercury which confused the angel as did a slight stutter on the Devil's part. "Y-yes, of course, Your Highness," she remarked before standing up and turning to face Mercury, looking very stoic and confident in her means of saving her. "Rise, my angelic friend." The angel shut her eyes and did as she was told, grateful to have been addressed as a friend to the Devil who thought so highly of her. "Rosaliya, remove the bindings."

"With all due respect, I'm not sure that's a good idea," Rosaliya commented cautiously.

"Please," the other Devil stated calmly in an affirmative, yet authoritative voice that didn't sound coldhearted. Hoping Reficul knew what she was doing, Rosaliya snapped her fingers as the vines on Mercury's wrists unwrapped while a maid stepped forward to collect them and place them in one of the potted plants while Reficul proceeded to question Mercury. "Tell me, Mercury, whose authority was it that assigned you to lead this assassination attempt on my life?"

"Elux, as I'm sure we're all aware by now," the angel replied in a firm voice of honesty.

"Did you personally want to lead this mission and be the one to take my life from me?"

Mercury shook her head. "No, I most certainly did not; I was only following orders alone."

"Who benefits from wanting me dead: Elux, or the people of your heaven?"

"Both."

"And of those two, which do you personally serve: Elux, or the people?"

"I serve the people as I always have, Reficul; just as you have prior to resigning your post."

The Devil nodded in confirmation. "Very good, Mercury, thank you for your honesty. That concludes the first part of the testimonial process of this interrogation." She looked over to a maid with seven hilts in a basket. Each one had a space where a blade could be attached, but there were no blades were there. "Give her energy swords back to her," she instructed as the maid smiled and fulfilled that instruction willingly without hesitation, holding the basket out so the things could all float out and surround Mercury without unsheathing themselves since she hadn't ordained it.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Reficul?" Lil asked, watching the proceedings and holding Macarona and Rane close to her to protect them in case Mercury chose this opportunity to strike out at all of them. "You've just essentially given what may be her strongest weapon back."

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Reficul stated and turned around, shutting her eyes while addressing Mercury again. "Now unsheathe your energy swords and point them right at my back." The angel frowned and scrunched her face up in nervous hesitation, swallowing heavily before she followed the instruction as the Devil continued speaking. "I ask that nobody interfere," she stated, holding her arms out at her sides and preparing for the worst as all of them except for Sin watched cautiously, getting ready to disobey that order if what they believed would happen happened. "My final instruction for you, Mercury, is for you to make your choice: slay me now, or don't. I shan't stop you from fulfilling your objective; kill me if you wish, though the decision is yours alone."

The blades hovered in the air, poised to strike as Mercury shivered, raising a trembling arm up with all of her fingers closed, save for her thumb which was poised sideways. All she had to do was give the thumbs down so the blades could strike. She held her breath for a short while, tension in the atmosphere getting thicker as everybody waited for what she was going to do. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Mercury's breath started coming out slowly as she struggled to reach a choice: kill one of the only individuals she trusted in life and considered one of her closest friends despite the decisions Reficul made in addition to being a Devil, or spare her and risk incurring wrath onto her from the very people she served and wished to protect even if it was from themselves.

There was much pressure on everyone, including her as she fought with that decision. She had been given the perfect chance to kill Reficul, but…Mercury gave a thumbs up instead. All of her blades dematerialized and dropped to the floor as she nearly collapsed, but Reficul turned right away to keep Mercury from falling to her knees as she breathed heavily to recover from a difficult decision she had been forced to make. Although the Devil contributed to that, Mercury didn't have the heart to blame her for it because she knew Reficul was only doing it to save her. The tense air cleared up as the angel, having turned ashen during that experience, regained her composure. "Now comes the second and final part of the testimonial interrogation," Reficul declared once her friend could stand on her own and answer more questions. "Why did you not strike me down just then?"

Mercury shut her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Because I can't do it. As much as I'd be doing a service to my people, I would be doing a disservice to myself for following through on that. Your death would spark a war I would like to avoid, not just for the sake of my people, though also because the guests you and Sin are entertaining come from other underworlds—alongside one individual from another world entirely," she explained with the reference to the others present. "It would only put us at a disadvantage because we could not win against so many opponents, though my disdain for war entirely is because I don't want my people to have to suffer from even a single casualty since one alone is enough to harm their hearts and spirits; I'd prefer to aid them instead."

"You have done well, Mercury, and I thank you for being the only friend I can count on in Elux's heaven," Reficul complimented her as the hilts rose up and clipped themselves onto the belt around the angel. "I only have one final question for you." Saying so, she removed a slip of paper from her pocket and held it out to Mercury. "You're aware of this mission's other purpose, right?"

The angel accepted the paper and unfolded it, closing her eyes after reading it over to nod. "Yes, I'm well aware of it. Yet again Elux has tried to rid herself of me by sending me to a hopeful death," she remarked which confused Rane, Macarona, and Lil as they exchanged glances.

"Wait, I'm confused," the other angel among their group commented for herself and them. "Why would Elux want to get rid of you, Mercury? Did the two of you have a falling out?"

"Not necessarily," Mercury answered and brought the paper over to show them. "I stated I serve the people, not Elux; she doesn't like that I prefer them over her and made numorous attempts to have me killed on missions like this one. Here, read this note addressed to one of the men from this mission as well; it says he and the others have received the same note from Elux ordering them to disobey my orders and immediately assassinate Reficul everyone else here with me unaware. If you read between the lines, you can clearly understand she meant for the mission to be jeopardized on purpose so that once Reficul and I fought, there would be a chance we'd both die."

"Whoa, sounds like you work for an egotistically stupid Goddess," Lil commented. "Why haven't you given thought to quitting and leaving the joint? I mean, sure, she could make you into a demon for resigning and all, but it's a much better decision than busting your ass for her without any sort of appreciation or rewards." Reficul and GriRea were about to chide Lil for her choice of words, but the remark just made Mercury giggle because she seemed to actually not mind at all.

"There are days when I do consider that, but deep down I know I can't leave them. I made a sworn duty to my people, but not to Elux. I must do all I can to help them; feel free saying what you want about Elux, but I'd like to ask that you refrain from saying bad things about them."

"Sure, if you're okay with that," Rane commented as the atmosphere brightened while the Queen released a breath of air before speaking up to address Mercury.

"Very well, since Reficul has proven you are no threat to us, you are free to go, angel. You shall be released and may head back to your heaven now with no opposition from any of us keeping you back, though be warned that should you go back on your word, we will not go easy on you."

"I understand, Your Majesty," Mercury responded with a smile and a bow of appreciation. "Thank you for your consideration and the pardon. I shall now excuse myself and bring the remains of my comrades back with me so their families can receive them and honor their deaths." She had turned to head out, but Sin slithered over to stop her from departing right away while smiling.

"Hold on for just a bit, Mercury," she asked as the angel stopped, wondering what the snake demon had in mind as Sin turned to make a request of Her Highness. "Your Majesty, if I may, I'd like to propose an idea and ask for everyone's approval on it if they will allow it."

…

 **And so, of the three angels I've chosen for the role of being the eighth main character, I went with Mercury because she's my favorite among Elux's angels and I imagine she shares a bond of friendship and understanding with Reficul. She has not appeared in any games so far, but I think her character style might be similar to Matthew Scudder played by Liam Neeson in A Walk Among the Tombstones and Robert McCall played by Denzel Washington in The Equalizer in my opinion. It may not be what Mogeko has in mind for Mercury, though I'm not sure what kind of treatment Mogeko will give her, hence why I'm speculating what she's like. I think this kind of development could work, and I'm glad to have included her here as she really does fit into this fanfic in my opinion. Mercury will also have another main role in two other projects and perhaps she may appear in a third as a supportive character.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Equalizer; it is owned by Antoine Fuqua and it is based on a television series by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. I do not own A Walk Among the Tombstones; it's owned by Scott Frank and is based on a book by Lawrence Block.**


	6. Chapter Six: Welcomed Among Old Friends

She gazed at her reflection which stared back through a dismal expression, observing how the circumstances of her original mission had changed with the deaths of her men and a subsequent pardon from the Devil herself, an old friend from the past. Opening a pocket in her trench coat and removing a few items from within, she held each of them in her hand and gently shut her eyes, all so she could reminisce on how she acquired them. These were badges of office: a ring with Elux's name and her own name engraved on it, an amulet with a blue sapphire—supposedly blessed by the Goddess—and finally the physical badge with the image of a green cross and a diagonal gold cloth hanging from the right side, all signifying her status as someone Elux trusted. Though that was a lie carefully constructed due to her oath to the people, not Elux; the Goddess knew well how to say things fooling people in believing her over others, and so she awarded these symbols to her only as a precedent without the meaning attached. They were essentially worthless, and she never wore them on her person because the lack of a meaning meant they had no purpose.

Reficul, on the other hand, was trustworthy unlike Elux. She knew what to say and always kept her word, so Mercury had faith in her instead of the Goddess. They knew each other from the services they gave to Elux, and both of them pledged to serve the people. Being the egotistical shit she was, Elux hated them for that because she demanded strict loyalty to her and her alone since she was a dictator. The Goddess was a master of speech craft and could easily concoct lies for faith and send others she despised to death while claiming they sacrificed themselves for her and their heaven to please people as a means of winning them over. Reficul and Mercury knew that aspect of her character well, and the Devil could not stand it anymore since Elux actually hated the people and knew they sided with her even after what they did to help them all. That was why she resigned, fully aware that it was part of Elux's plan to get rid of her all along, yet the Devil proceeded with the decision anyway despite the fact she became a demon since Elux made her into one once she resigned her post. Another angel took her place, and Reficul left their heaven after freeing Sin from the Gulag and saying goodbye to Mercury with an offer to go with them and leave their old heaven.

Closing her fingers over the items for a couple moments, Mercury sighed and put them into her pocket again as she recalled what led to the decision for her to spend the weekend here with a motley collection of Devils and demons of aristocratic prestige—though Lil didn't fit that prestige, seeing as how she was boisterously amusing—with an angelic citizen. Sin had suggested to let her stay here with them for the duration of their weekend and everyone else had approved with GriRea allowing the decision reluctantly because she still wasn't sure what to make of Mercury. Although Mercury sought to return home right away and report back to her people on her failure and have the remains of her comrades brought with her, Sin and Reficul insisted on the idea because it would help her prove that Elux and the heaven would be at a disadvantage in taking on all the underworlds and another world if the assassination was carried out. She caved to their proposal because it made sense, though she still treated herself as a prisoner even though they told her not to think of herself as such while allowing her to listen to musical instruments with them last night: Sin on the piano, Rosaliya with her ocarina, Rane on her harp, and Macarona's guitar in that order.

"Mercury?" Sin asked after opening the door to the guest room the angel was sharing with Her Highness who kept a close eye on her even while they both slept. "Are you ready to go?"

So it seemed everyone else must've been ready and waiting for her to show.

"Yes…" Mercury replied somberly and turned to her, looking a little gloomy because she'd been wondering if it really was a good idea for her to be a guest. "Are you sure I'm welcome here, Sin?" she asked, voicing her doubts. "I'm an angel, your prisoner. Elux shall label me as a traitor." Sin slithered forward to Mercury as the angel continued beating herself up over accepting aid from those who were supposed to be enemies. "I'll be useless to my people when they discard me."

"No, she won't," Sin tried to reassure her, attempting to lift Mercury's spirits with a smile. "You are not our prisoner, you are our guest and friend. That is only a label you've given yourself in addition to being treasonous when you're not. That being said, however, use it to your advantage and claim you were imprisoned; it'll be a front for you to relax and clear away stress."

"I don't think I can lie to my people…" the angel replied, still unsure whether it was a good idea to just abandon them and her duties to have fun with demons, Devils, and another angel.

"Elux does it all the time, you know?" Reficul put forth a calm counterpoint to address her concern with being untruthful. "You're not a liar, but sometimes you must do what is necessary to survive in your heaven. I should know, having been a prisoner in the Gulag for decades until Refi saved me. The conditions there were appalling, but I forced myself to work hoping to be free. This is one of those cases, trust me; we will send you back with their remains once this is over, but take a break from your responsibilities so they don't consume you—otherwise you'll be exhausted." Although Mercury could understand what the snake demon was saying, she was still afraid of how her people would accept what she had done. Sin could understand that even without her having to say it. "It'll be fine since everybody has willingly agreed that providing the information about each of them should serve well by keeping your people cautious about how to proceed. Elux needs their favor, hence why she'll only act in accordance to what they seek so she can keep their faith in her."

"What you say makes sense, Sin, but what of the notes from her to my men? I can't simply ignore those either because they're evidence of her treachery," Mercury pointed out.

"Don't show them like I advised you," the snake demon smiled softly and lead her out into the corridor so she could escort Mercury down to the porch to take two horse drawn carriages over to the train station for their trip into the city. "Those will only make them suspect you of traitorous designs. Some may begin to doubt Elux, but she'll reaffirm their faith in her and denounce you. If you wish, I can have those disreputable letters shredded to help you avoid a scandal."

"I appreciate the offer, Sin, but I feel I should hold onto them anyway for safekeeping. If a serious incident arises in which they question their faith, the notes might help corroborate that with further doubts that can be seen should anyone be observant enough to read between the lines."

"If you insist, I shall not stop you," Sin said, allowing Mercury to make that decision. She stopped for a moment to turn and make eye contact with the angel. "Refi and I trust you and your judgment. You are one of the only angels we'd welcome into our world as family friends, including Macarona too. I know that might not seem like much since we're meant to be enemies, but I don't want to hurt somebody I hold dear to me. I cherish all my friends and my family as loved ones and you are definitely included in the former and can even be considered part of the latter like the other girls." She smiled, hoping her words could cheer Mercury up. "So please, Mercury, do not beat up yourself over concerns about what your people will think and what might happen if you fail them. It only hurts yourself before you've seen how they feel and know what they think."

"With all due respect, I already know how they feel and what they'll think of me," Mercury said with a small frown, though she also smiled to show she appreciated Sin's concern and advice. "But thank you, I do feel better now thanks to you. I can only hope all goes well."

"As do we all, Mercury, as do we all," Sin remarked, taking a rose badge from her pocket. She clipped it to the angel's trench coat and closed her eyes with a smile. "There, wear that; you'll not be bothered by any demons in this world so long as you have it on. Though to be fair, Macarona said some did eventually suspect she stole it and forged my invitation to her, so you'll be with Refi today, just in case such a problem occurs to hinder you from enjoying yourself."

Mercury's smile grew a tad wider. "Thanks, it's most appreciated."

…

It was a strange sensation being one of two angels in a city full of demons. By natural right, this place was supposed to be hostile towards her and Macarona, yet it wasn't. Well, they certainly were suspicious even though she did have the rose badge, but Reficul stayed by her the entire time and informed anyone who asked that she was the only angel from Elux's heaven who had not just Sin's trust, but hers as well. Mercury was grateful for the aid, though she could not help but suspect her squad hadn't been the only one since her Goddess could very well have sent another out to see how hers progressed and if they failed. Of course, that squad probably wouldn't resist the urge for a fruitful assassination to succeed where she and her men had failed, hence why another one wasn't likely sent—Elux couldn't afford to have two botched assassination attempts in a row, even if she wanted Reficul dead. It just wasn't a tactical advantage, and she was cunning enough to understand that at the very least. At best, the second squad would either report back—the smart decision which Mercury had to admit was proper—or go ahead and disobey orders to please Elux anyway.

Leaning back against a bench under an awning to admire the rain, the angel considered the stroke of luck she experienced to have been of benefit to her after all. This trip really was a proper break from all the work Elux assigned to her, and Mercury was glad for the change of pace to slow down and think. She released a sigh of relief and smiled, thankfully taking the time to count all of her blessings since she was still alive and well to do so. "Seems like you're enjoying yourself, my friend," Reficul commented amiably beside her, knowing the angel was relaxing like Sin had said. "You must be tired from having to accomplish so many assignments for the Goddess, so consider this a brief vacation from work. The other angels up in heaven won't bother you if you play along with the idea that you've become our prisoner for a time until your eventual escape from us."

"Yes, I'm starting to enjoy it," her friend remarked with a small smile towards Reficul. "It is a much better place you've got here than in heaven—this underworld, I mean. You don't see all the propaganda declaring Elux to be the best, Elux as our savior and heroine, etcetera. Everything's so normal here whereas Elux turned heaven into a garden of statues, portraits, banners, and whatnot of her image." Mercury sighed again, glad to have gotten away from all that for a brief respite. "It can get pretty boring staring at the same face all the time, looking everywhere to find her with you. I swear, she is the most selfish individual in our world and sets a poor example for our people that the sheer majority of them seek to emulate Elux rather than be their own person."

"Of course, that's why I chose to leave. The social conditions are horrible; she treats anyone who disagrees with her like a demon and even makes them out as such before tossing them within the Gulag or casting them out of heaven for even having a different opinion on anything."

"I'm glad you at least got out of there with Sin," Mercury remarked, empathetic to the issue that had caused the snake demon quite a lot of trauma in the past. "She looks so much better now. Last time I saw her was when we secretly gave aid to her and those other prisoners. Out of all those convicts, she was the only demon in there who maintained her innocence and tried to be strong for the others even when it was difficult to do because they always fought one another and tried to flee the place. I heard she was one of the ones who suffered the worst not just because of what she had been put through there, but also because she felt she was failing to retain her sanity and kindness."

"Indeed, but now she's recovered. It's been several centuries since then and the past is now behind her," Reficul agreed, thinking of how hard it'd been for the snake demon even while she'd been getting better. "She still accepts that dark time as a part of her, though her nightmares ended long ago and she can now sleep peacefully and have pleasant dreams. I've not said it yet, but what had helped me free her was one of your devices, Mercury; I'm sorry I had to steal it for her sake."

"I constructed it specifically for that purpose in the event I needed to free somebody who's been wrongfully accused by Elux or someone else in heaven and detained there," Mercury said to show she wasn't bothered by it. "If anything, I should be thanking you for testing it and also for a promise you kept and fulfilled to Sin. She didn't deserve that cruel fate simply for being a demon."

"Nobody does," Reficul remarked in agreement, blinking while nodding. "I know I would not ever go back or even stay in that heaven any longer because of Elux. Though I wish you could leave as well and either join us in our underworld or another one, or move to an accepting heaven instead, your choice is your own. Not to say anything rude about your efforts, but I believe it might turn out to be all for nothing one day. Might I inquire what you'll do if such a day comes?"

Mercury shut her eyes and crossed her arms to ponder her answer to that inquiry. "I suppose I'll have to still fulfill the vow I made to the people," she responded. The Devil knew what Mercury was talking about since she was present at their inauguration ceremony, so there wasn't a need for the angel to elaborate on the details—especially since it was just the two of them right now. "Even if it were to cost me my life, I'd still want to do anything and everything I can for their sake."

"Your determination and courage are admirable, as is your loyalty to them over Elux. They are a few of your best qualities, and some of my favorite traits in you," Reficul complimented her with a small smile. "I need not forget to mention your intelligence and tactical skills, nor your kind and compassionate nature even amid the decisions you're forced to make either via some external force like Elux, or a harsh decision you have no choice but to make. I'm sorry such choices tarnish your life and have established a facet of your character that must make tough decisions. I wish you could have better choices that don't negatively impact your life and who you are, Mercury."

Mercury smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," Reficul said, enjoying her old friend's company. "Are you sure you do not want anything? I'd be happy to buy you some souvenirs if you want a few."

"No thank you, I'd be in trouble if discovered with things from this underworld, though an offer like that is generous," Mercury replied before her smile went away to be replaced by another expression. She was going to become inquisitive, a look the Devil was most familiar with from the times they spent together as angels prior to her becoming a demon. "Though there's something I'd like to know, if you don't mind, Reficul. It's been on my mind since last night and I wanted to ask about it because I'm curious about this matter due to its extraordinary peculiarity."

"Be my guest, fire away," the Devil urged her to put forth a question.

"I can understand the presence of the Queen, another Devil, and other demons visiting you and Sin for fun, but what caught my attention was the lone angel among your group, Macarona."

"O-oh, w-what about her?" Reficul suddenly became a bit pale and turned away, unable to suppress a shudder in front of her friend. It was the same fear Mercury saw her express last night, hence why the angel chose to proceed carefully by treading cautiously so as not to upset her.

"Well, we both know it is unusual for angels and demons to be seen hanging out together," she went on calmly from a logical standpoint. "According to natural law, angels and demons hate one another; they're exact opposites. Yet Macarona comes from the Gray Garden, a world in which that natural law doesn't apply anymore since the Devil and Goddess made peace. I comprehend it, but my question is why she is here; granted, I'm aware you had helped stop Ivlis—that much I do know since it's become common knowledge in our heaven by now as Siralos mentioned it during a brief visit to see Elux once. But what makes Macarona unique to you and Sin?"

"S-she was one of the four heroines of her world who stood up against the airhead and also fought him personally. She said she'd fallen unconscious during the fight and was scared for much of the invasion, but became courageous and managed to help take the fight to him directly and stop him from killing Kcalb and destroying their world," the Devil explained somewhat nervously. "As my role in that conflict was minor compared to hers, I cannot take much of the credit."

"I see," Mercury uttered in slight admiration for the other angel and a bit of confusion too. "That certainly distinguishes her among other people in her world, yes."

"S-she was a schoolgirl and so were her friends whom I had also saved from the airhead's prison in his underworld. I was unable to open a portal to their world because he had sensed one I already opened to let Wodahs, the Head Angel of their world and Kcalb's younger brother, out so he could return there. However, they managed to escape with the help of their Devil's cat demons."

"So that's when you met her and her friends personally? They must be quite special to the Gray Garden for their heroic efforts in saving it from Ivlis. But why Macarona specifically? Why's she, among her friends, here? Were they unable to attend with her, or was there another reason?"

"S-she showed my family around Gray Village and Blancblack Castle. Etihw made her the t-tour guide. Sin invited her as thanks, though she also considers her to be a friend like how we're friends," Reficul explained briefly, hoping to avoid her fearful confrontations with Macarona.

"Ah, so she and Sin have become pretty close despite having only met once," Mercury had surmised before moving forward to another concern of hers. "Yes, I can see how you and I would be considered similar to the two of them in a way. Yet there is something I don't quite get, Reficul. Last night when Her Majesty made that one comment about your predicaments, I could sense you were afraid of something. At first I thought it was something that had to do with you making a fool out of yourself in front of her—and I'm not laughing at you because I don't think it's funny as I'm in full support of you, so I'm sure it must've been an accident. It felt like you feared whatever she referred to because of embarrassment, yet just now you've displayed fear when we were discussing Macarona. Has something happened between the two of you to generate such fear?"

"You won't laugh?" Reficul swallowed heavily, praying Mercury wouldn't laugh.

"I shall not, but I will offer my opinion once you've related this to me. Is that acceptable?"

"S-sure…" Reficul murmured quietly and took a deep breath as she was about to begin her tale of embarrassing woe. "B-basically for starters, I-I…" She hesitated somewhat, afraid to go on despite Mercury's understanding of the problem even before the Devil had actually started. "S-she once worked part time as a night guard in a museum, and one night I-I…s-sort of barged in to see what was going on with the animatronics there since s-she described them as dangerous. I-I thought about helping, but didn't s-say anything because Kcalb said s-she was shy, s-so…"

"She eventually lost her patience after having made numorous requests for you to leave as she then yelled at you for trespassing before contacting the authorities, right?"

"M-mostly," Reficul admitted, shivering slightly and crossing her arms. "Although I-I was not c-charged and have apologized to her boss, I-I actually found her t-to be worse than the things she dealt with on a weekly basis over the course of one week." She looked up into Mercury's eyes so the angel could see the clear impression of terror within them. "S-she actually screamed at me."

"Understandable, really, and yes, you did have good intentions," Mercury remarked as she agreed not to laugh and give an opinion instead. "However, it was far better for you to have stated those intentions to Macarona right from the get go. The fact you retained a stoic demeanor without informing her of why you went there is why she got upset because you must have most likely come across as disinterested in her work and uncaring towards the situation she dealt with. Are there any other problems you have with her, or was it just that instance alone which freaked you out."

Reficul sighed. "I-I k-kind of escalated a petty bout of t-teasing from Etihw by attempting to b-beat her and M-Macarona became angry again, a-and another t-time I-I p-panicked and broke her cellphone," she continued to relay the problems between her and Macarona to her friend before slightly raising her voice. "She even included the first two instances in a book about the museum and a sort of conspiracy involved with it because my own son insisted she put those in!"

"That's certainly embarrassing, having uncomfortably awkward moments like that written down for all to read once the work becomes published; though I suspect it wasn't her idea to begin with since she probably wanted to respect your privacy about that and abstain from including them. I'm also guessing your family knows about it well, but what about the others? Do they know?" the angel then asked, curious as to how that would affect the Devil's state of mind and her image too.

"Y-yes, they know!" Reficul tried her hardest not to raise her voice any higher in case other demons around them heard her speaking about a petty phobia of hers. "I-I'm t-thankful my family and Rosaliya don't think it's funny, b-but Lil and Her Highness herself both laughed at me!"

"Judging from the intel Elux had me collect on demons and Devils from other underworlds, I can certainly tell that fit Lil's character, but not Her Majesty's; I heard she never laughed, ever."

"The two pages in that manuscript set her off! She was laughing for about twenty minutes!"

Mercury's eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa, that long, huh?" she asked as Reficul nodded several times to emphasize the point. "Well, I've got a pretty good idea of what the interaction you and Macarona have is, though I'm not going to pry any further or speculate on it anymore. At best, all I can do is wish you the best in your attempts to get over any hurdles with her and offer advice if need be." However, Reficul merely raised a hand to interject, hunching over to put her face into the other. Obviously recounting all that put her under quite a bit of stress concerning Macarona.

"I've received plenty from others who basically said the same thing, so I'm pretty sure the advice you'll give would follow along the same track: act natural, be yourself, and act calm around her. Etihw and Sin gave me the same advice, and now Sin's mad with me for upsetting Macarona."

"I see…" Mercury remarked calmly and slid over to put her arm around the Devil. "In any case, hopefully you can feel better now that you've told a friend who understands your situations. Granted, I do believe you could've handled them better too, but I'll not make fun of you for them."

"T-thanks…" Reficul uttered softly and took a deep breath to recover from her fear before checking her watch. "We should probably head over to the restaurant across the street where we're meeting up now. The others should be there by now for lunch as well, or at least some of them."

"I know Sin can escort Rosaliya around since she knows the area, and Rane could also lead Macarona there too," Mercury agreed as they both stood up while she got under the umbrella which Reficul carried with her to share it. "My only concern is how Lil and Her Highness will find us."

"I'm sure Lil's got them lost already despite having been here a few times in addition to an extra few copies of the map she somehow conveniently loses all the time," Reficul murmured and smiled softly, shaking her head as she thought of the demon having to ask for directions while also panicking and throwing a fit about how lost they were and where to go. Imagining Lil's distress in that manner was somewhat funny, so Reficul considered it a bit of revenge for Lil's teasing of her.

Even Mercury found the idea to be funny too and she also giggled too. "Hopefully they did not get too lost, otherwise we'll have to go off and find wherever they've gone."

"Indeed," Reficul agreed as they crossed the street after letting some horse drawn carriages go by to find the other Devil and the snake demon already waiting for them there. "Ah, the two of you made it already," she observed and looked around for any sign of the other four.

"We just got here ourselves," Rosaliya commented. "A short walk through the central park in this city is always a lovely venture on a day like today in this underworld. I especially liked the flowers growing there; they all looked quite lovely sprouting from the earth that bloomed them."

"Ah, that sounds like a nice place to visit," Mercury commented as a trouble Rane ran over to them all, nearly tripping over her own legs. "We should check it out in a little bit, Reficul."

"Certainly, there are several interesting vendors with stalls of unique merchandise there. If you'll still not take a souvenir or two, we can merely browse unless you want me to store them for you in case you ever decide to resign from your post like I did," Reficul suggested and looked over at Rane to address the spider demon. "What's the matter, Rane? You seem out of breath."

"B-bad news!" the spider demon cried as she hurried over to them. "I-I'm s-sorry, I-I split up from Macarona! W-we were at the main marketplace fair in the central plaza when we entered a huge crowd, a-and when I-I came out I-I couldn't locate her!" Tears were in her eyes as she had begun to sniffle, guilty over having become separated from the angel. "I-I didn't mean to, I-I'm so sorry! It was an accident, I-I swear, b-but it's all my fault! S-she could be lost, or was kidnapped!"

"It's okay, Rane, it's okay, we'll find her," Sin reassured her. "Macarona has maps in case she did get separated so she can find her way back to us." She slithered over to Rane and embraced her in a hug to calm the poor girl down, holding her gently while the spider demon hugged her too. "Don't worry, dear, it's alright; it's not your fault. We'll be reunited with her soon, okay?"

"O-okay…" Rane murmured nervously, afraid something might've happened to Macarona. This was an underworld and the demons here didn't like angels or trust them for that matter, though Macarona did have the rose badge on her person which should've helped keep them from bothering her even if they didn't actually want to bother helping her. "I-I'm just s-so worried, I-I—"

"Hey y'all, what's up?!" Lil suddenly interjected as she moseyed on over to join them.

"Lil?" Rosaliya spoke up when she saw the demon approach alone. "Where's the Queen?"

"Oh, Her Majesty?" Lil inquired and then realized something which made her make a fist, lightly knocking the side of her head while wearing a sheepish expression. "Oops, guess I kind of lost her, I'm afraid, eh heh. My bad, I might've accidently left that mall we were in together alone without her," she giggled sheepishly as Rosaliya stepped over to smack her upside the head.

"What were you thinking, you dolt?! Did you not check to see if she was still present?!"

"H-hey, I said I was sorry—well, not yet, but there, I said it!"

Reficul sighed as she watched an argument erupt between the two while Mercury attempted to get them to stop fighting. She wasn't sure if she should've felt alright with Macarona being gone because she was afraid of the young angel, but she didn't want to upset either her or Sin further. It was complicated with just her missing, but now GriRea was absent as well which was also bad as they couldn't afford to leave Her Highness all alone without any bodyguards or escorts to keep her safe. "I suppose we might as well split into two or three groups to find them," she instructed all of them as they quieted down to listen to her. "If two, Lil will stay with Rane while the others stay in their original pairs; if three, I shall take Mercury and Rane with me and Sin will take Rosaliya and Lil. Rane and Sin have already exchanged numbers with Macarona, so one of you should call her. One group will look for her, and the other shall search for Her Majesty; if one finds either of them, contact the other group and we'll continue to search for the other." Hopefully they could find them.

…

 **Macarona and GriRea are lost in the city! Will the others find them?**

 **Also, I just wanted to explain the purpose of this chapter. Throughout it, I went over what I believe Elux's heaven is like. From what the wikia says about her (though Elux might also be a guy, but I went with the female version to definitively characterize her), she's known as an egotistical deity which is why I set up her heaven as a society similar to societies found in books like George Orwell's 1984. The name of the prison in her heaven, the Gulag, was in fact an actual governmental system of forced labor camps in the Soviet Union where political opponents, criminals, and maybe spies, amongst other prisoners were kept. These camps had first appeared in 1918 following the Russian Revolution of 1917 in which Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was deposed by Lenin in favor of a Bolshevik political system; and Article Fifty-Eight, the RSFSR Penal Code, acknowledges these camps. Prisoners were forced to work to death, but a significant majority of them left the camps alive.**

 **I mean no offense to countries that are former satellite states of the Soviet Union and also people who lived under the oppression in Gulags in addition to those who might want to have the old Soviet political system back in place. I also mean no offense to anyone egotistical, either. This chapter was meant to set up a picture of what Elux's heaven is like based on her character. Elux is egotistical as the wikia says, and as a deity with power over her subjects, I imagine her to have implemented a political system in her heaven to govern said subjects like in the aforementioned example, 1984 by George Orwell. Granted, I don't believe all heavens in the Mogeko universe are like Elux's because each one is different as are the underworlds; for instance, refer to chapter four when I described Fumus' heaven as being businesslike and Satanick's underworld being similar in addition to being a monarchial tyranny/patriarchy.**

 **However, if anyone does take offense to this, I sincerely apologize. I merely wished to express a moral concept in this chapter by shaping an imperfect paradise. It is imperfect due to the fact that although Elux's heaven is a paradise, the question begged from it is who will benefit from it: those who rule over others, or those who live under those who rule? Granted, the latter may have certain freedoms like the former, but those who rule will usually benefit more than the subjects they govern because they've got the power to ensure they have greater freedoms than their subjects. This is the concept I wished to convey in this chapter.**

 **That being said, it also reminds me of the two recruitment conversations Marth and Caeda have with Lorenz in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. Marth informs him that Lorenz's still fighting for his country by protecting its future to ensure it can overcome present conflict so it may prosper. Caeda asks Lorenz what constitutes the country: the king, or his subjects; this leads to one of my favorite quotes about this matter (found on the Fire Emblem wikia): "A kingless country is a country still; but a king without subjects rules naught but hills." It's an interesting quote and it helps Lorenz come to terms with the fact he is protecting the reign of his king. I imagine Mercury being similar to Lorenz by serving her people and their future.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own 1984; it's owned by George Orwell. I don't own Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon; it's owned by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD Group No. 2.**


	7. Chapter Seven: Street Fight Rematch

She sighed distractedly, running a hand through her hair as she held the umbrella over her. The map in her hand blew softly in a cool, yet damp breeze that made the paper flap gently which made Macarona hold it tighter so it didn't blow away. Although she still had a couple spares with her just in case this one got lost, the young angel didn't want the first one to somehow blow away or get stolen from her. Leaning against a wall of the building nearest her, she removed her cap and shook it briefly to get some drops of water off that got past the umbrella before setting it back on her head in the usual position she kept it in. "Let's see…" she murmured quietly and looked up at one of the street signs for a position on where she was and checked the map again. "I'm here, so I only need to cross a few blocks down to my right and then head down another four at this corner."

That crowd she and Rane had penetrated before was densely packed with people, and once she exited it Macarona realized she was lost with the spider demon nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it was because they had accidently gone in different directions due to losing their way in the crowd. Rane must've been worried, but the angel pulled her cellphone out to call her when she found that there was no service in this area due to a problem with some electronic device that malfunction. It seemed some of the rain got into something that was being repaired, which could've accounted for that as Macarona saw them repairing it. The thing looked like one of Etihw's stones, so she thought it and others like it were similar in a way; however, Etihw's stones never broke aside from getting destroyed by Ivlis' forces so he could invade their world. These appeared to sustain any damage.

Demons walked right by her, giving Macarona suspicious looks without doing anything to harm or help her in any way regardless of what they did. Word had gotten around by now that Sin really did invite an angel to their underworld after her experience with Ushio and Alibe at the train station and when they saw her with the group the snake demon was in before she let Rane go with Macarona in any direction they wanted. They even didn't bother Mercury despite the fact the other angel was a last minute surprise guest. Even so, both of them had the rose badges showing that Sin regarded them highly as individuals she trusted and considered close friends, so the demons didn't bother either of them. Despite the fact she unintentionally got separated from Rane and was alone which made her an easy target due to her vulnerability, these demons still refused to attack because they were afraid of what might happen to them if Sin found out and really had trusted this angel.

Macarona would've asked one of them for directions if she couldn't understand these maps, but luckily she could comprehend them well. Besides, even if she had, they wouldn't give her the time of day because she was an angel. She didn't blame them for that because angels and demons naturally hated one another. The Gray Garden, her home world, was an oddity in that regard since angels and demons made peace which wasn't present in many of the other worlds—except the one Lil came from to some extent. In any case, she accepted the fact she was an outsider in this world, fully aware that only a select few individuals from it were compassionate enough to trust her since they knew her better than most demons in this world. She was really thankful for their friendship.

"Well, I'm probably not going to be found anytime soon if I remain somewhere they might not search for me," she said to herself and stood. "I might as well make my way back toward where Rane and I last saw each other for now and wait before heading to the restaurant." The plan was good, but not easy to enact because of the traffic in this part of the city. There were many horse drawn carriages making their way through the streets, and other repair work was going on a short distance away which started immediately after all pedestrians—including herself—went by. The construction workers who showed up for the maintenance had to fix potholes that would've made horses and pedestrians trip and get into accidents. They closed off the area leaving only alleyways, underground tunnels, and subway entrances open for travel between streets. If Macarona wanted to head back, she had to take one of those routes to reach the central plaza.

As she began walking down the sidewalk to check the alleys, the young angel frowned due to seeing each of them closed off by fences. Granted, she could fly over them if need be, though it was going to get her wings wet which would make it difficult to flap them in this weather. She did consider trying the nearby subway and cross through it, but that might've taken too long what with so many demons heading down it to take the train, plus Macarona didn't want to get jostled on one or the tracks by accident, or lose something if thieves pickpocketed her—Sin and Rane warned her about it. That left a nearby underground tunnel few people appeared to enter, so Macarona smiled and gave the idea a nod of satisfaction while ambling down the steps to try it. The rain was leaking down into this place through small cracks in the ceiling, though she closed her umbrella since she didn't need to hold it up any longer. Adjusting her purse so it wouldn't fall off her shoulder while using the umbrella as a cane of sorts for no real reason, she sauntered down the corridor and found an old map of the place that exhibited which tunnels went where down here.

"Okay, the one I want is over here…" she uttered and pulled her digital camera out to take a photo of it for reference in case she didn't find another map along the way. "There, now I should be good to go. Hopefully I can make it back in time and find Rane or one of the others."

Continuing along the path, checking the picture on her camera every so often to ensure she was going the right way, Macarona eventually came upon a set of stairs to her left and descended. The walls down here were not as clean as the ones above since they were covered in graffiti which must've been applied by solitary punks or groups of them in gangs. She ignored the writings since most of them were just random slogans, names, and whatnot with pictures sprayed by them. There was also more grime down here than in the upper level she just left, and she was closing in on parts of the tunnel which were right by the sewers as she went down another staircase. Thankfully scents that smelled bad from that area didn't infiltrate the ventilation which filtered it out through the fans built into the shafts, so Macarona was grateful for that even if the place looked unappealing.

She was just about to cross over into another section of the tunnel when a trio of demons a short distance up ahead exited another hallway and stood in her path to block her once they caught a glimpse of her and noticed she was an angel. They blocked her path and forced her to stop near them because they weren't moving. Most likely she had to alleviate their concern over her being a lone angel with Sin's rose badge, and she even possessed the invitation on her as well. In case this went south like her encounter at the train station yesterday, Macarona would even resort to asking them what Sin might do if she discovered they rudely accosted and threatened her. Still, Macarona made sure to smile and bow politely before them as a pleasant greeting. "Good day, sirs, how may I help you if needed?" she asked nicely, wondering if they wanted something from her before she continued speaking. "If not, might I ask you to excuse me so I may proceed to the central plaza?"

"And just why would we want anything from a pipsqueak angel like you?" one asked.

"You have obviously stopped in front of me to keep me from going forward," she said with a polite tone, not wanting to offend them despite the fact she couldn't help but state the obvious.

"Because you're not welcome here, angel," another retorted coldly.

"Ah, my apologies, I did not mean to cross into your territory," Macarona bowed again so she could place additional emphasis on her apology. "I was unaware you had rights to it, but even if I was aware I still wouldn't have entered to purposely upset you gentlemen. I am merely passing through en route to the central plaza and happened to take this way because of construction going on in the street." That was an honest explanation and she was glad to have informed them of what was happening. "Potholes are being fixed, the alleys are dead-ends, and the subway is crowded. It felt quicker to take this tunnel, hence why I came down. I'll not trouble you gentlemen any further." Macarona shut her eyes and smiled cheerfully at the demons. "Have a good day."

"You misunderstand us, angel," the third spoke up just as coldly and walked past her, likely to go up the stairs behind her towards another destination or to go down the direction she had come from. "This is our underworld, an underworld of the demons; you're an angel, that means—"

"That I am not allowed because I'm an angel," said angel finished for him. "My apologies for interjecting since it was rude of me, but I am already aware of that fact and I also have the rose badge from Sin. This is not the first scuffle over that matter; just yesterday, other demons raised a claim that I stole it and had also forged an invitation from Sin inviting me here for the weekend. I had asked what Sin would think if she found out if anything happened to me in the event this matter is true—and I can assure you it is, though I can also take you directly to her and Rane once I reunite with them to corroborate it—and most of them backed off," Macarona explained honestly.

"We know all that, angel, and we know the rose badge is legitimate as she gave it to you," the second commented harshly again. "Colonel Ushio told us everything: his defeat to you and the dishonorable discharge he received because of what he did at the keep."

"So you are already up to speed on everything, gentlemen?" the angel inquired rhetorically. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't see the significance of this encounter. If you know everything at this point, might I inquire as to why you are halting me here? My apologies, but I really must—"

Yet she could not finish because the demon who walked behind suddenly whipped around and slid a knife from his jeans pocket over her throat while seizing her shoulder with the free hand. "You won't get away with that, and neither will our Devil or the Queen; you're with them, we can use you as a hostage to have them reinstate him with all honors and then some."

Macarona hadn't flinched even though the blade surprised her. She merely shut her eyes to sigh in frustration before opening them again. "You gentlemen do realize that you could also suffer the same punishment the Colonel received before he had to be shown the door out of the premises? Your pay could be docked, you might also be dishonorably discharged if you're also in the military, and you may also be liable for imprisonment should misconduct of this sort continue any further."

"As if," the first cackled sinisterly, "you're our prisoner now, angel. We could do anything we want to you. Ol' Reficul and the Queen will take back their decision if they know what's good for them—and yourself, I should add. After all, you've no weapons, but I warn you; try anything funny and we'll slit your throat and send your corpse back to them in exchange for the Colonel's privileges. Hell, we could just kill you now and lie that you've become our hostage before making our demands. You know, that sounds like a much better idea now that I think about it."

Macarona shut her eyes and braced herself for the conflict that was about to happen before she opened them again after taking a deep breath. "Very well, gentlemen, I must apologize for the fight in advance; though I did warn you to be fair, after all." Saying so, she leaned her head forward just enough so that the blade wouldn't cut into her throat even though the edge itself wasn't pressed against her. Immediately jerking her head back suddenly, the angel bonked the demon behind her. It was a fairly light blow that still caught him off guard and made him wince in pain, but it was all Macarona needed for an opening to rush behind him after stomping on his foot. She whirled around to avoid a crossbow bolt fired from a miniature crossbow one of the others hid in his sleeve which fortunately missed her by a few good inches. It did whiz by the demon wielding the knife and also grazed his cheek, the pain forcing him to drop it as Macarona held him in a headlock. The angel's common sense told her to not pick up the knife since she still wanted to end this without violence.

"You bitch…" the demon in her grip murmured before falling unconscious because of the pressure she had to apply. It wasn't enough to kill him, fortunately, so he was still alive. However, he wouldn't be for very long if his buddies killed him to get to her, and he was going to regain his consciousness in just a bit. Nevertheless, Macarona had no choice but to use him as a meat shield.

"I warned you, gentlemen," she cautioned them on intensifying this confrontation. "Now I request that you stand down one more time if you do not wish to face the consequences." She was looking more determined and a little fiercer because she had prepared herself for battle. If they did seek a conflict even when she didn't, they would get one since she'd have to accommodate them.

"Damn you…this was supposed to be an easy hostage situation!" one of the other two had yelled angrily, irritated that things were already getting out of hand. He stepped back to flee, but a crossbow bolt embedded itself in the wall by him. "Dude, what the hell, man?!"

"We're not leaving until this little bitch is dead!" the crossbow-wielding demon growled.

"What, you're going to drive one of those things into him hoping it pierces her skull too?!"

"And yours if you take another step back to report our failure when we could still succeed!"

"The Colonel ordered us to make it a clean kill if we chose to slay her! Not botch it up with our own deaths! What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you want us to end up in hotter water?!"

"You know, gentlemen," Macarona offered, using disciplinary diplomacy to end the fight. "We could all walk away from this in one piece. You let me go and I shall not speak of this to Her Majesty and Ms. Reficul. It's the best offer I can give you, so I suggest you take it." She held onto the demon in her grip without letting him go until she had their assurance they would leave. "Well, what do you say: either pick a fight and risk getting in trouble, or walk away as free men?"

"Like hell we'd leave!" the demon still out for her blood retorted. "And just why would we report back that we had to let you go when we're fully capable in a position to kill you now?!"

"Because if you don't, I will kill you all here and now in an instant," a voice called from a doorway up top and they all turned to the threshold there to find GriRea on a platform those stairs behind them all went up to. "I figured that fool would try something like this sometime, so I'll deal swift justice unto you as punishment for attempting to kill one of Sin's guests and try utilizing her cadaver as a living hostage in exchange for the worm's privileges," she threatened them.

"Your Majesty!" Macarona called out with a smile to greet the Queen as the demon who'd attempted to leave panicked at the sight of her and rushed up the stairs towards her.

"Shit, it's the Queen!" he cried as his comrade with the crossbow shot at him for fleeing as he also aimed at Her Highness and fired a bolt at her too. "W-we can't go back! Just run!"

"Impudence," Her Majesty insulted them bitterly as she deflected the bolt with her fan just as the other demon dashed past her. Yet he jostled her on the way out, making GriRea stumble and trip as she cried out upon losing her balance on the platform, falling despite having flailed her arms a couple times in an attempt to regain her balance. Yet she failed because she slipped on the edge.

"Your Majesty!" Macarona called out again in surprise and shoved the demon in her grasp into the other remaining demon. She then whirled to where the Queen had fallen and leapt up with her wings flapping as she sped up and quickly caught GriRea in both arms while also grabbing the crown with one hand and holding it firmly. Her arms were outstretched with one under the Queen's back and the other under her legs. GriRea breathed deeply to settle down after embracing Macarona by wrapping both arms around the young angel to hold onto her so she didn't fall out of her grasp. "Are you alright, Your Highness?" Macarona sked in concern as she landed and gently helped Her Majesty stand upright while the Queen took the crown once the angel gave it back.

"I am, yes; a bit unsettled for the moment, but I'm fine nonetheless," GriRea replied while dusting herself off and turning to Macarona with a smile. "Thank you for the rescue, Macarona."

"You are most certainly welcome, Your Majesty," Macarona returned the smile and bowed.

"You bitches!" the crossbow-wielding demon shouted after pushing his buddy off who had now regained consciousness and could clearly see the tables had turned out of their favor. "Damn you both!" He raised his weapon again and fired at them, aiming for the Queen, but again GriRea's fan deflected it while Macarona caught the bolt and threw it like a dart. She had good accuracy as she had a dart board hanging from her wardrobe closet door in her bedroom at home, and she made sure to practice on a daily basis whenever she had the time. The bolt didn't pierce him, though the attack did make him close his eyes when it hit him while his comrade charged them with the knife.

"Such brash behavior," GriRea remarked in disapproval and put an arm around Macarona's waist before she blinked once to warp past the demon. It was over in an instant for him since she'd made sure to swipe her fan across his throat to slit it for a clean cut that amazingly didn't get blood on either her or Macarona, and the fan was clean too. Although the Queen ensured he survived due to the cut having been very small, the strike was surely deep enough to worry him as he'd need to see a doctor right away to treat it. "You'll live, though I suggest you get that looked at immediately before the wound opens any further," she instructed him with a cold glare as they looked back over to see how he fared trembling with hands and knees on the ground. "Turn yourself in, by the way."

"How dare you order us around!" the other demon barked and tried raising his crossbow at them. Luckily Macarona was quick enough to grab his arm and deliver a severe punch to his face. Blinded by her blow, he winced in pain with both eyes closed. When he opened them it was over; Macarona had whirled around and lifted her leg up to smash the side of her foot into his head. The attack sent him careening into some trashcans while his friend escaped via the same exit the other demon had gone through minutes before. Rubbing the bruise on his head and wincing again while feeling someone seize his collar, the demon watched in slight shock as Macarona formed a fist and punched him in the fact again before throwing him to the wall by the doorway she meant to cross. The angel rushed towards him again and grabbed his shoulders, pushing him down as she smashed her left knee—for the third blow to that area—into his face before he collapsed and held his head.

"I do believe this little incident is over," Macarona commented, critically speaking to him. "Either stand down and accept the consequences for having assaulted us, or face further judgment."

As if I-I—" the disgruntled demon spat out at her before GriRea applied the same spell she had used on Ushio the previous night when he showed up at the keep. He screamed in pain because it was excruciating, and he couldn't stand it any longer before crying uncle. "Alright, alright!"

"You surrender now?" GriRea asked rhetorically. "Good, lead us to the filth so he may also face judgment as well. I shall not ask again, consider this your only chance for lesser punishment." She released the spell and the demon struggled to his feet before motioning for them to follow him down the corridor he and his buddies came from to ambush Macarona and attempt to kill her. They followed him as Her Highness turned to address the angel. "Are you alright, Macarona? The fools have not harmed you in any way, have they?" she asked in concern as Macarona shook her head.

"They have not, but I'm fine all the same. Thank you for arriving, Your Majesty," the angel smiled appreciatively, thankful this confrontation was over as quickly as it started.

GriRea smiled back. "You are most welcome, Macarona," she remarked and shut her eyes before opening them to put forth an inquiry concerning the angel's presence here. "Though why've you come here of all places? I had thought you were with Rane. Had you both gotten separated?"

Macarona nodded. "We have when we went through a big crowd at the central plaza. I was actually on my way back there to meet up with her and the others if they were searching for me. It wasn't possible to head down the street since potholes were being fixed and the alleyways weren't open to crossing. Even the subway appeared to be packed when I looked at how many people were entering, so it likely would've taken a while to get there through it. This tunnel's a surefire means of getting there, and I have photographed a map I saw at the entrance. I was heading down the path when I suddenly encountered these guys who threatened me and wanted Mr. Ushio's—"

"That's Colonel Ushio, to you, bitch," the demon retorted sourly as GriRea quickened her pace to smack him with the fan before slowing down to walk side by side with Macarona.

"That's _Mr. Worm_ , now, worm," she corrected him harshly, emphasizing the cow demon's disgraceful name. "He was dishonorably discharged for his misconduct and shall now face justice."

"They already know," Macarona politely interjected. "He ordered them to do this."

"So I've heard as I was strolling down here," the Queen reaffirmed that, having caught the conversation the young angel had with them while beginning to hold them off until GriRea arrived and offered her aid. Together the two of them were able to defeat a trio of petty demons and forced one to escort them over to where Ushio was. It sidetracked Macarona from her original plan of the reunion with Rane and the others, but at least Her Majesty had found her in time. "He'll be in much trouble now that he's betrayed his word and foolishly attempted to slay you for petty revenge. You are lucky I got here in time to help, and now we'll both have a word with that filthy brute."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Macarona remarked again before posing an inquiry to GriRea. "Though might I inquire why you're here, Your Highness? Were you separated from Lil like I was with Rane? We can look for her together once we meet up with Rane and the others."

"As a matter of fact, I left Lil behind at some shopping mall she dragged me to," the Queen commented blandly to clarify how she and the demon split up. "She was getting aggravating, hence why I departed without her. In hindsight, it was a foolish idea on my own part since I do not have a map of the city and had only just strolled down here on a whim. It is quiet here, and I enjoy it as the noise of urban settings can give one a headache at times. You probably never visited cities like this one, Macarona, so I can tell you the bustling city life will be sure to generate noise until it falls asleep. I should know having traveled to cities so I might meet with the Devils on business."

"You must've been here before, right, Your Majesty?"

"Indeed, this is actually the eleventh time I've been to this city in particular when I've had to call on Reficul for duties pertaining to her role as a Devil," Her Highness answered as they took a turn down another corridor. "The company she manages deals with foreign affairs, a set of bonds her underworld shares via commercial trade. It's a means that generates international coinage and distributes it throughout the underworlds, much like how some of the heavens handle finances for their international revenue. Fumus is one of the participants involved in that process up there, and he has also personally spoken with me on a few occasions regarding the economical enterprise for heavens and underworlds. Those were times when he came down to the underworld to deal with a set of problems involving bonds Satanick borrowed or stole and was forced to pay back by me."

"Seems like the economies are all handled very similarly," Macarona commented to make conversation on that point. "I know the international economy of all worlds consists of gold coins, but each world must maintain their national economies differently than one another."

"Quite right, Macarona, that is essentially the core idea of it," GriRea went on in her lecture. "However, not every economy is perfect unless the deities and Devils use any means to ensure the economies in their world continue to flow unabated, kind of like with the Gray Garden as you had explained last night during dinner. There's also the fact most underworlds—and a few heavens—have illegal means of producing revenue. This is crucially in the form of black markets, enterprises that conduct shady business deals in the shadows under the cover of night to make money. One is certain to find illegal goods there in addition to other forms of trade in black markets, some of the most notable being trafficking of drugs, cadavers, armor, weapons, and other miscellaneous stuff."

"Have black markets been forbidden in the underworlds?" Macarona asked curiously.

"Mostly, for I've outlawed many throughout the underworlds. The only one still around is governed by one of the Devils, Warwick," GriRea answered which brought that name back up. "It is the only system of governance in his underworld, and he has attempted to import it everywhere until I forbid him from spreading the business further beyond the borders of his underworld. I have only allowed it to run in his under the condition that he shan't break that command."

"Warwick…" Macarona repeated softly. "You've mentioned his name once before when I threw Mr. Ushio out with Lil and she found his wallet, but that's not the first time I heard it. Doctor Alibe also brought it up in conversation before he left me alone yesterday with the other demons."

"In one of her reports, Reficul displayed concrete evidence of his involvement in the black market. Alibe is not only a dealer and consumer for Warwick's black market, but he is also directly in Warwick's pocket as a patron of his. As a matter of fact, it was only when she discovered what he was doing that I learned of Warwick's designs for expanding the black market to other worlds."

"So now his national economy—which has been made internationally unlawful—is lawful in his own underworld," the young angel responded as they were nearing the location. "How does that affect the financial matters of his underworld? Do the others continue to trade there, or not?"

"They do not, though I do wonder how he's able to regulate his economy without having a single recession of any sort," GriRea said as they turned down another corridor after descending a staircase to their right. "He's purposely avoided the question very skillfully whenever I asked about it, yet investigations into the matter have always proved he's in the clear with solid evidence. There is something off about it, and while I have established a committee to keep an eye on his activities, he has done nothing illegal as of yet to warrant any charges and additional investigations for now."

"Sounds suspicious from the sound of it," Macarona commented as they entered a massive underground area with pillars and two large, metal doors blocking two pathways. A sign above the threshold indicated these were floodgates for a river flowing through the city. They had just went forward into an area when a demon from within a large crowded space of over twenty or so demons was knocked out as many of them cheered for the combatant in the center: Ushio. "I daresay we've found him," she said and took a closer look at him, "though he doesn't look alright."

"He and these other demons must be in drunken states as suggested by bottles of alcoholic beverages lying around," GriRea presumed as the two of them were careful not to slip on any. "It's also likely why he must've ordered for them to attack you, Macarona. The state he's in now could explain the lapse in his judgment and thinking. It does not excuse him from punishment, however."

"I'll say," Macarona agreed as they watched the cow demon cheer before the audience and take a swig from a large bottle of whiskey, only to throw the empty bottle down once finished due to having noticed the angel and the Queen arrive in the hideout where they were street fighting. "It appears he's spotted us, Your Majesty. What shall be our course of action when dealing with him?"

"Punish him the same way we did last night," GriRea murmured as Macarona nodded.

"As you wish."

"Oi, it's you bitches!" Ushio shouted at them with a few slight hiccups. "Back for more?!"

"Technically we just got here," Macarona clarified even if the point was unnecessary.

"And you!" the cow demon slurred, somehow managing to form coherent speech even if a tipsy to overdrunk frame of mind impeded him from behaving properly. Then again, he never did. "Why the hell have you come back already?! Have you taken both of them hostage?!" He smirked at the thought of having both the angel and the Queen in his grasp when GriRea addressed him.

"They've utterly failed and were beaten like the scum they are," she uttered, loathing Ushio a lot more than she already had been up to now when her impatience with him increased. "Just like how you yourself shall suffer the same consequences and worse for having ordered the attack when I've specifically threatened you with consequences much worse than what you've suffered already. You were warned, filth, and shall now face those very consequences at once without mercy."

"The hell I will, bitch!" Ushio spat and then seized the demon to punch him. The poor guy fell over clutching at his nose which started to bleed from how hard the blow was. "You both made a fool out of me, and I'll not stand for it any longer! You first, angel! Enter the arena at once, that's an order!" he shouted, pointing to the center of their makeshift ring. "You wanted the rules before, fine! Fists only, no martial arts bullshit or whatever! Your dukes and only your dukes! That's the one rule here, got it! You either follow it like an honorable fighter, or we kill you both here!"

"You've no honor; you never did and lost all trace of potential for it," Her Majesty declared. "You are nothing more than a heathen, a vile brute who has the gall to call himself honorable."

"Just shut the hell up, you bitch, and get that stupid angel in the arena!" he demanded while stepping into the arena. His gait was quite wobbly from all the alcoholic beverages he must've had by this point, and it also seemed he was in no condition to even win another match. Maybe he only won some including that last one because his opponents were also drunk—maybe more than him. "Place your bets, everyone! Ten to a hundred gold per bet!" he announced with calls for the latter. Evidently all of them placed bets of a hundred gold coins on Ushio in the hope he would win them riches for more alcoholic beverages. "That includes you too, bitch!" he addressed the Queen.

"So I'm to be roped into this putrid affair as well, it seems," Her Highness murmured with a sigh before turning to Macarona and smiling at her. "This seems to be a suitable punishment for the moment, don't you agree, Macarona? Defeating him should be a much sterner warning for the brute and his disgusting associates. Though I'll lighten the final sentence because he's drunk, he's nonetheless going to be imprisoned for this inappropriate conduct. What do you say?"

"If you wish for me to entertain you with a show, I am at your command, Your Highness," Macarona smiled and bowed respectfully, "though I'm afraid it might be a lackluster conflict."

"True, though it should still be amusing to watch him fall nonetheless," GriRea commented as she patted Macarona's head lightly. "I have faith in your abilities to hand down a severe beating. After what I've seen before, you definitely are something of a skilled fighter, Macarona. He is not in his right mind as he's drunk, whereas you are fully sober enough to defeat him easily."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You are quite welcome," the Queen said before turning to Ushio. "How much for a bet?"

Ushio smirked, having a feeling that she would go with the highest. "Ten to a hundred."

GriRea smiled back, deciding to take him up on the offer even though she hated to gamble. "Very well then, a hundred it is since your terrible company wants to lose their money that badly."

"Which of us are you betting on?" he asked.

"Macarona, obviously, for the two of us already know the outcome by now."

"Ha, is that so?" Ushio chuckled, upping the ante. "Fine, two hundred!" His friends agreed.

"So, we're playing that game, are we?" Her Highness sighed, though she wasn't bothered. "If you're all so desperate to end up in poverty after being released from prison on parole if I'll be that merciful to you, so be it. Just know that money won't go towards bail. Two hundred it is."

"Fine, fair enough," the cow demon murmured, satisfied that he now had twenty-four bets of two hundred gold on him with a single bet on Macarona. "Anyone else want to join in and bet?!" he shouted aloud in case there actually was somebody passing by who wanted to participate. "We are going once, going twice, sold for—" Yet he was cut off by another voice that yelled out.

"A thousand!" The newcomer stepped out from a hallway on a platform above them as she made her bet, going from a fifth of what they proposed to the full amount once four fifths had been added to it. She wore a confident smile, flicking locks of red hair out of her eyes as Macarona gave her a smile while GriRea nodded, both acknowledging her presence at the floodgate.

"Mercury!" the younger angel called and waved to greet the older one as Mercury returned the gesture. "We didn't expect to see you here either! You were separated too?!"

"Not exactly, everyone's been searching for you both. My group split up so we could cover a lot more ground that way, and who else do I find but a couple of thugs fleeing from Her Majesty and an angel to boot," Mercury explained and flapped her wings, landing next to a door for one of the control booths that administered the functionality of the floodgates on either side of the arena. "I knew who exactly fit the description they gave me before I had the authorities cuff them." With that said, she pointed to the rose badge on her trench coat. "And yes, gentlemen, I too am a friend of Sin and Reficul, so refrain from having to cause more trouble over that when you've got a fight."

"Fine, fine, but how the hell are we going to raise a thousand each?!" Ushio demanded, his friends all getting in on the debate as they became a mob sharing the issue. "That's extortion!"

"And what would you call taking a young angel captive just to get reinstated with all your privileges and honors, Colonel? Inviting her and the Queen over for tea and crumpets?" she joked, making GriRea and Macarona giggle while the men in the cow demon's group sneered at Mercury. "You wanted another bet, and I made one. Either take me up on my offer, or stand down."

Ushio growled, hating her attitude. He was just about to speak up when Her Highness made another bet as well. "Interesting…I shall change my bet as well. Make mine a thousand, also."

The cow demon was surprised at how arrogant these two ladies were, wanting a thousand. Just who the hell did they think they were? Even so, he didn't back down. "A thousand from all!"

"A thousand it is!" Mercury nodded in agreement and opened the control booth door. "You may come up and watch the fight from here, Your Majesty. It should be a better vantage point."

"Very well, angel, I shall come right up to join you," GriRea murmured affirmatively while turning to Macarona. "You shall emerge from this confrontation victorious, Macarona; I know it."

"Thank you for your confidence in me, Your Highness, and you as well, Mercury," she had said with another bow before entering the arena and waiting for the Queen to take a seat beside the other angel who just joined them. Macarona gave a friendly wave to them which they returned.

"You really believe she'll win?" Mercury asked while watching the spectacle before them both take place, lifting the cover off the control panel to reveal a lever and some buttons. She took a flash drive out and inserted it into a computerized system before pressing a few buttons that had somehow given her instant control. The angel smiled, resting her arms behind her head and sitting back in the chair to slump against it. "A thousand gold coins is a lot of money, Your Highness."

"I already have plenty; even if she were to lose—which is impossible considering the state of that brute's orientation—smaller chunks of a small fraction of my royal treasury is no concern," GriRea responded, catching what Mercury was doing to the system which made her curious. "What are you planning on doing, angel? This contraption is government property as the sign on the door said. Why is it that you must go out of your way to sabotage something in my presence?"

"For the record, I'm not sabotaging anything; I'm taking control of this system. I've merely hacked into the computer's mainframe so I can open and close the floodgates when need be. They will lose, though this should give them some extra incentive to pay up if they refuse. Besides, I've bluffed the thousand," Mercury explained with a smile, chuckling as they watched Ushio take one swing at Macarona which missed. The failed attack gave her the opening she needed to punch him in the gut to make the cow demon hunch over and choke before delivering the second attack to his face. It was actually the final blow that knocked him down into a brief unconscious state, yet there was no doubt about it: Macarona was correct in her assumption, for it was a lackluster victory.

As the demons began gathering around Ushio to check on him, the young angel ambled up to the control booth and stepped inside. "What do you think?" she asked both of them as Mercury stood up to close the door behind Macarona and brought a third chair over for the other angel. "It's not as if that was the most stunning accomplishment I've achieved, but it's something, right?"

"Indeed, for you have proven yourself and a key point to these oafs once again, Macarona," GriRea complimented her on the victory. "True, it wasn't much of a fight, though at the very least it was interesting to watch you easily subdue a tattered foe whose inferiority and downfall was not caused by external factors, but rather his own decisions to be a fool. The worm better ponder long and hard on his actions from this point forward, and he'll have all the time to do it in prison."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I appreciate the praise," Macarona stated with a bow when they heard a soft, damp towel smack the window. The three of them looked to find Ushio already begun to usher the crowd into a riot against them, refusing to pay their losses from the fight to them.

"Looks like they're going back on their word," Mercury said, "just as I predicted."

"What do you mean, Mercury? Why are you handling the controls?" Macarona asked while watching the older angel take control the panel by pressing more buttons on it. She and the Queen watched as gates began to raise in the area around the mob of demons to prevent them from getting away. In their drunken state they were confused as to what was happening and why they could not escape, but Mercury grinned and rested her hand on a lever by her. "What's the lever for?"

"You'll see," Mercury remarked and pulled it to open the floodgates, unleashing waves of water on the demons which tossed them about like ragdolls in a wind tunnel. One minute later she put the lever back into its original position while pressing another button to drain the water. "What I've done was simply hack into this thing's system to control the floodgates," she briefly explained to Macarona since the younger angel wasn't present in the control booth for that comment as she'd been fighting Ushio and easily won. "They refuse to pay, they get a body of water." She turned to Macarona and GriRea with a smile. "Think of it as negative reinforcement via negative punishment if you will. Those poor sports lost and no longer have any right to complain about it."

"I see, but isn't hacking illegal?" Macarona asked, worried that Mercury might get herself in trouble with the authorities of this underworld even though GriRea was present with them.

"Sure is, though I'm not stealing or sabotaging anything," the older angel clarified. "I have only utilized it to assume control in this instance to prevent a potential riot like this one." Although the water had fully drained by this point, leaving nothing but the drenched demons below, they've recovered long enough to continue their protesting as Mercury pulled the lever again. More water gushed through the floodgates to soak them before the angel at the helm drained it again. "Granted, Elux has ordered me to conduct numorous attempts to disrupt the flow of anything and everything controlled by electronic devices connected to online networks via cyberattacks whenever her order to declare war was underway. However, I have also prepared secret things of the same kind which are meant to put a stop to anything she tries which could negatively impact our people severely."

"Does Elux know about that?" Macarona asked, taking her seat next to GriRea at the panel.

"Only what she has officially ordered me to do," Mercury clarified. "She has no knowledge of the steps I've taken ensure she doesn't go too far, nor even the steps to end her reign should she ever accomplish something of calamitously apocalyptic harm to our people." The demons kept up the riot and she punished them with more water, giggling in satisfaction because this was fun.

"What she's doing is fine so long as those worms suffer the consequences," GriRea stated, allowing Mercury to do what she did because it meant Ushio and his gang would learn their lesson. That being said, she turned to Mercury and addressed her to pose an important question. "So, from what I've garnered in your statements, angel, you seem prepared to go against your Goddess. Are you truly ready to betray her without hesitation for the sake of your people in her heaven?"

Mercury nodded with a frown as they watched the water drain yet again. "I've made it clear before that I do not serve Elux, I serve the people. They are my priority, not Elux. A deified ruler's reign is nothing without the people to support him or her. Although Elux claims to rule our heaven for them, the truth of our society is nothing but a lie she's fed them. She is the only one who holds power and can pass whatever legislation she likes without needing anyone else. As such, she made the system benefit herself for the most part; however, Elux does grant special privileges to anyone who serves her willingly, eager to abuse the political system with her for her sake and theirs. This body of government in our heaven is certainly corrupt to the fullest. It's comprised entirely of the angels who seek to advance their place in civilization for the most part, though others in the system only serve her out of fear of what would happen to them if they fail or even disagree with even an insignificant opinion or decision Elux makes. I know my colleague, Luna, is terrified of offending her, either accidently or otherwise, hence why she refuses to go against Elux."

Sighing, Mercury's hand rose to rest her head in the palm with the elbow on the panel. "It's harsh, but what can one do, serving a deity who cares solely for herself and hates everyone enough to punish them however she pleases regardless of whether they committed a crime or to use those poor souls as an example of what would happen to them so she can then blame them for faith? She sees me as her enemy in heaven because I choose to serve the people instead of her, yet Elux can't afford to publically denounce or kill me because the people are thankful for everything I have done for them. She knows she needs their faith, but tries to have me die on missions like last night's."

"So you're struggling to maintain your position to be of benefit to the people?" GriRea had asked her just as the demons were beginning to settle down and talk amongst each other.

"Yep, that's just what I've always been doing throughout my service. I've established some safe houses for myself if the estate I've been given is ever attacked by a secret force she constructed to assassinate me, and I always make sure to prepare failsafe strategies to keep our heaven from a string of disasters if Elux's plans never work and cause problems that are either expected or not. I have always done my best for my people, and so far everything is manageable; still, I know there's going to be a time when something will happen to turn everything on its head and mess it all up. I don't know what it is, but I've made sure to be prepared for it when that time comes."

"But what about after it?" Macarona asked, wondering what Mercury would do then as she was worried for her. Mercury might've tried to assassinate Reficul because Elux ordered it, though she chose not to because she couldn't do it—she didn't want to. From what she related concerning her heaven, the young angel could tell she wasn't like the other angels Mercury described vaguely. The fact Mercury was prepared to do what was necessary for her people's sake and take the fall for it if she was discovered was honorable, but what would happen if she succeeded? "What then?"

"I haven't thought of that, yet…" the older angel replied somberly with a sigh, though she smiled a few moments later. "But now is not the time to dwell on such topics for the moment. The end will come when it does, and whether there's a new beginning afterwards is yet to be determined because it hasn't happened yet." She looked at Macarona and Her Majesty. "Now come on, I think those guys are finally ready to pay up, even if they can't afford to pay the full amount."

GriRea nodded in agreement as they all stood to leave the control booth once Mercury had resigned her control over the panel and ejected her flash drive from it. "True, it might not be enough to cover their losses, but anything is sufficient enough so long as they learned to know their place."

Macarona also agreed with that logic. "Indeed, I wonder how much they're willing to pay."

Mercury snickered, preparing her energy swords in case they still rioted. "Enough to stop."

…

The three of them had been sitting on a bench with Macarona in between both of them. The others from their group had already arrived to find them in the central park, waiting for them there. An hour had gone by since they started searching for Macarona and GriRea, but the young angel's call brought everyone here where they found the trio underneath an awning, enjoying the folk song a band was playing. "Well, well, seems you like you managed to find them in good time," Reficul commented to Mercury as the older angel tossed a bag which the Devil caught. "What's this?"

"Earnings," Mercury answered with a smile and an arm resting on the bench. "Think of the money as my thanks for the pardon and letting me stay with you all. I cannot thank you enough."

"Earnings?" Sin inquired, confused as to why the three of them all had similar bags. "How did you get this money, Mercury? Was it a secret stash you and your team hid somewhere here?"

"Not exactly," Macarona responded somewhat sheepishly.

"The filth sent thugs after Macarona to kill her and use her corpse as a hostage," the Queen explained briefly. "He sought to get reinstated with additional honors beyond what he was denied."

"I found them both when the Colonel challenged Macarona to a petty street fight and lost," Mercury continued for her as everyone else stared at them in surprise. "His buddies all bet he was going to win and took it up to two hundred, but I raised it to a thousand which everyone, including Her Majesty since she too got involved, accepted. Long story short: Macarona won, he lost; we've gained a total of two thousand four hundred gold coins which we split into eight hundred each."

"Wait, Macarona won a street fight against Ushio?!" Rane exclaimed in shock.

"That's…actually surprising for whatever reason," Rosaliya commented in astonishment.

"Not really," Macarona chuckled sheepishly. "He and his friends were all drunk, so it was pretty easy as a matter of fact. I didn't even have to go all out; he went down in two hits."

"Why wasn't I invited to that?!" Lil cried and grabbed GriRea by the shoulders. "Why did you not tell me you had gone to see a street fight?! I wanted to kick some ass and take names! How come I don't get any betting money from your new gambling habit, huh?! Split it with me!"

"Absolutely not, Lil, you didn't participate; this is going right into my palace's treasury as I was the one who earned it. The rest of the money those fools can scrounge up whenever they can after getting out of prison shall go to Reficul and Sin as my thanks for being allowed to stay," Her Highness remarked, raising a hand to silence further protest from the demon. "Furthermore, I shall not ever take up gambling as it was only a onetime thing since Macarona and I sought to prove the point that brute refused to consider—with some aid from Mercury when she arrived."

Mercury smiled, grateful to have been considered highly by the Queen since GriRea didn't refer to her as a mere angel anymore. "You have my thanks, Your Majesty, and you are welcome."

"That's fine and dandy, but what about my cut?! Can't I at least get one for free?!" Lil had continued to protest even though Her Highness didn't want to hear it. "Can you share, Macarona?!"

"Sure, I don't mind, Lil, you can share with me if you'd like," Macarona commented while the energetic demon seized her in a hug and laughed with the young angel, glad for their friendship.

"Oh, thank you, so much, Macarona, you're an angel!"

"Thank you, we really needed that to point out," Rane giggled as everyone but Reficul and Rosaliya chuckled at the joke. "Well, I'm glad everything turned out well in the end."

"Yes, though it's a bit later than I expected, why don't we grab some lunch for ourselves?" Sin suggested as they all began to head towards the restaurant. "Maybe your share can be used for the bill, Mercury. Refi and I really appreciate having you here as one of our esteemed guests."

Mercury smiled. "And I appreciate being here amongst people I can trust and call friends."

"So tell me, Mercury," Rosaliya inquired to make conversation. "How did you make those guys pay? I imagine they weren't too happy about losing and refused to turn over the money."

"Oh, I hacked the floodgate controls to give the guys a drink to make them reconsider," the older angel answered and pulled the flash drive out of her pocket. "I didn't steal or mess anything up since that was all I planned to do in case they rioted—which they did, but I cooled them down."

"That's not exactly how I would've handled it," Reficul commented, walking by her close angelic friend. "Still, I could care less if you were the one to do it, seeing as how you're not in the best position to refuse Elux's orders concerning what else you can do with those skills, plus it isn't something that warrants any charges considering the purpose behind what you've done."

"True, though the police tried to arrest me for it until Her Majesty intervened on my behalf when we contacted them to have the Colonel and his associates arrested," Mercury pointed out.

"Hopefully this means he won't be bothering us anymore," Sin remarked with a smile and slithered by Macarona to put an arm around the angel's shoulder. "Especially you, Macarona."

"I don't think he will; he was pretty disorientated from all that water, and he should be held under close observation in prison so he doesn't break out," Macarona agreed, glad all went well.

"Well, all's well that ends well!" Lil remarked, having playfully seized her for another hug. "Man, I'm so hungry I could go for some ground beef or something," she said as an insult to Ushio.

"It was quite an experience," GriRea admitted with a small smile. "Something unique and different, yet intriguing all the same regardless of whatever its nature was ultimately like."

"Indeed, it sure was," Macarona murmured in agreement.

"I bet you're really starting to like our underworld, huh, Macarona," Rane smiled at her.

Macarona shut her eyes and grinned back at her. "You bet I do!"

…

 **Quite an eventful chapter, eh? I do respect the military, the army, Marines, Air force, and whatnot; though Ushio's behavior is what got him that dishonorable discharge. I do not like hacking or any kind of cybercrime because those things are bad, but I think such actions could be undertaken by Mercury to save her heaven from Elux running it into the ground. I do apologize if these two distinctions cause trouble with the site and the law; I do not approve of cybercrimes and I respect the aforementioned military services above as I said, though the inclusion of these aspects is only meant to be added as development to show how characters like Mercury and societies like Elux's heaven can be fleshed out in non-canon fanfiction.**

 **It is my own speculation of what these aspects in the Mogeko universe are like as this isn't canon; however, I cannot deny there might be a possibility Mogeko may plan for similar development. As I also said in author's notes of the previous chapter, not all of the heavens and underworlds would be the same in my opinion, hence why I want each character and society in the heavens and underworlds to be unique and reflect something about society in their worlds while demonstrating key morals and meanings in their actions.**

 **Take Mercury for example. Throughout what I've written of her in this story, I have portrayed Mercury as a woman of the people, for the people, by the people. She is a dedicated servant of the public, and will do anything to serve, protect, and help them. Even if the price is steep and she is forced to take action for their sake, such as going against Elux for instance, Mercury will retain her loyalty to them. True, her position and skills do include hacking, and although I strongly disapprove of cybercrimes, I only included it for development of a set of skills in her arsenal should she ever be ordered to help her people in a war effort against the demons in Reficul's underworld, or to stop Elux from harming their people in their heaven. She's a strongly moral character who acknowledges that sometimes in order to help others, one has to either be a hero or live long enough to see oneself become the villain. That logic of Harvey Dent in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is a moral concept, one Mercury may wind up expressing in one of the later fanfiction projects she'll be in as a main character.**

 **Ushio is another example. Again, for the third time, I respect the military services. In developing his character while sticking with what's in canon, I wanted to portray a lesson in Ushio that is quite familiar to everyone: with great power comes great responsibility. This could be considered an aspect of the military because militaries have power and should wield it responsibly in my opinion as the moral goes. By abusing his power for misconduct, Ushio's meant to show what happens should one be irresponsible with power. Too much of it is bad.**

 **Again, I sincerely apologize if these distinctions cause trouble on this site and with the law. I also apologize for not having been clear on this before when I should've been. I cannot express enough how much I salute the soldiers in the aforementioned military services since they serve, protect, and help us when we need them, and I am very grateful to them. I'm also fully against cybercrimes like hacking because such crimes are awful, so I don't advocate for them at all and hope cybercrimes can be stopped before they cause too much trouble for the innocent people who are affected by them whenever a cybercrime causes some kind of harm.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Dark Knight; it's owned by Christopher Nolan.**


	8. Chapter Eight: Bonding with Rosaliya

"This is so humiliating…enduring such treatment from someone whose network I am quite ashamed of having become a member of…" Rosaliya muttered under her breath, irritated because Lil was having a blast teasing the Flower Devil sitting on her lap. The demon laughed happily due to how adorable she thought it was, though there was actually a very good reason behind the notion of Rosaliya being there against her bitter judgment. Today was Sunday and Reficul already brought Sin and GriRea back into the city for a while so they could announce Ushio's punishment and that of his colleagues from yesterday too as planned. That left the five remaining members of the group heading into the town where Rane lived where they would hang out in the shop she and Sin owned together and walk about town for a bit while waiting for the others before gathering at her house.

"Admit it, you crave the attention and enjoy my friendly affection!" Lil teased her, having claimed dibs on sitting next to Macarona while Rane and Mercury took the other side of the horse drawn carriage taking them into town. As there were only four seats and not enough room, Rosaliya couldn't squish herself in between one of the pairs because it would've been too uncomfortable as the three of them—her and whichever two she sat by—would be crammed into a seat for two. The Devil thought about joining the coachman outside in spite of the moisty damp air of this fog; for a time it seemed like a good idea in hindsight until Lil's boisterous attitude brought reality crashing down onto her. "Aw, you look so cute on my lap, Rosaliya! Someone take a picture!"

"Please don't encourage her…" the Devil fumed as Mercury and Rane tried to contain their laughter even though it still came out in slight chuckles. Only Macarona retained that polite grace since the young angel didn't want to upset Rosaliya any further. "It's bad enough she had to force me onto her, so I would appreciate it if she would kindly unwrap her arms from my torso before I kill her." Yet the threat didn't faze Lil since the demon kept sniggering at her displeasure, perfectly aware that Rosaliya was stronger than her and quite capable of fulfilling it. Still, something had to be done in order to calm one of them down before the other lost her patience and toleration for the demon. There were two ways, one of which was the aforementioned idea of sitting outside, though someone in here would have to be willing enough to exchange her seat for Rosaliya. Unfortunately, Sin recommended against that because she didn't want any of them to catch cold in this weather.

That just left the other idea which everyone was aware of. "Come on, Rosaliya, don't worry about it. This is just a onetime ride you can forget about later," Rane attempted to reassure her. "It is only for half an hour too, so it's not as if you're going to be sitting like this forever. You do not even have to stay seated on Lil's lap for that matter; just pick one of us to settle down on until our ride is over." That was the idea, and as much as Rosaliya wanted to accept it so she wouldn't have to be on Lil, she couldn't avoid the relentless teasing unless she shoved something in Lil's mouth.

"Indeed, you could even come on my lap if you so choose, Rosaliya," Mercury offered her, only for the Devil to flat out reject it by pouting with her head pointed up in aristocratic scorn. "It was only a suggestion, don't take it personally. It's not as if I'm the one teasing you."

"You are laughing at me too," Rosaliya glared at her and Rane accusingly. "You too, Rane. I'll not stand for this degradation regardless of how hard you both try to hold it in."

"See, she does enjoy my company," Lil teased her again which made Rosaliya turn around and smack her, forcing the demon to let go so the Devil could hop onto Macarona's lap.

"As a matter of fact, I don't," Rosaliya uttered bitterly, "not when you're tormenting me to make me want to kill you. If you value your life, hold your tongue before I rip it out for you."

"U-um, okay, let's not go that far," Macarona suggested sheepishly and turned to Lil. "You can leave her alone for just one carriage ride and not bring it up ever again, right?"

"Don't be such a killjoy, Macarona! It's fun!" the demon remarked happily.

"When you're not lying in a grave," the Devil retorted coldly. "I swear I'll strangle you."

"We're all friends here, right?" Macarona went on to try and alleviate the tension. "Sin will not be too happy if she discovers the two of you were fighting over something so small."

"Trivial as it may be, it still doesn't change the fact I want her silent," Rosaliya murmured, leaning back into Macarona with her head next to the young angel's head to look out the window and watch the valley go by them as they approached Tani Pasu, the hometown Rane called home after having moved out of the keep. "Either she takes the initiative, or I do via actual force."

"Okay, okay, let's all just forget about this unpleasant experience and change the subject," Rane spoke up somewhat sheepishly since she didn't want the rest of their weekend ruined. "Why don't we think about what we're going to eat later? We can bring in pizza or other takeout for our dinner, though we can go out for lunch like we did yesterday in the city. How about it?"

"I could go for some pizza," Mercury nodded in agreement. "Pepperoni and mushrooms as the toppings on my slices, if anyone's ordering the pie later. I can't say if the Queen would want a taste of it since I'm sure she would prefer food prepared regally rather than in an ordinary diner."

"True, true, she's never eaten pizza before," Lil commented and thought of an idea. "I say we surprise her with one and force her to try it by telling her it's all we got or she'll starve."

"That makes two of us…" Rosaliya retorted bitterly, rolling her eyes before addressing the young angel. "Please make sure you hold me firmly so I don't accidently fall out; not tightly either since I don't want to suffocate, Macarona." She smiled gratefully at her which made Lil jealous.

"Hey, you're letting her embrace you!" the demon protested with mock tears of sorrow.

"Because she's not the one taunting me, Lil," the Devil murmured quietly, still looking out the window and constructed a critical remark against her and the other two—sparing Macarona. "I despise being mocked by anyone who has the gall to think of me as a child." Mercury spoke up to make a counterpoint against that, but Rosaliya anticipated it. "For your information, I've taken up my father's reign at a young age. Yet my age in my world can make me the equivalent of a teenager in a different world, a tween in another, and approaching five years old in a third."

"So pick one and start acting like it!" Lil teased her and laughed.

"Again, that and my point about species, Lil," Rosaliya growled at the demon before again turning to address Mercury once more. "Furthermore, your claim is invalid in my world, Mercury. It is not in this one, however, so I'll not deny that unless we're looking at my species. Even so, I'd appreciate it if you would kindly refrain from referring to me as a child in any world, understand?"

"As you wish," Mercury shut her eyes and bowed her head respectfully. "Not to provoke a further aggressive response from you, but it's because what happened to you, isn't it?"

"And what of it?!" Rosaliya suddenly snapped at her. "You think just because you know a traumatic incident like that means you understand how I feel?! You serve a corrupt Goddess; she's the same as him, yet you've done nothing to change her nor even considered leaving like Reficul!"

"U-um, c-can we not t-talk about this anymore?" Rane asked hesitantly, tugging her collar nervously due to Rosaliya's mention of her father, a familial topic the spider demon couldn't stand to hear or talk about because it made her uncomfortable the moment it was mentioned.

"My apologies, Rane, though it appears our other angelic guest knows nothing of manners. Maybe she should go back to her Goddess and detain more innocent people in the Gulag like Sin," the Devil spat out, her tone of voice having become colder now that she was angry at Mercury and Lil for having discussed her age. The fact she even referenced the Gulag showed she was furious.

"I'll never defend Elux's actions and her motivations and intentions behind them," Mercury said briefly in her own defense of herself. "True, she's nothing more than a corrupt tyrant like him just like many of the angels in my world who have followed her example, particularly those in the government of our heaven. However, I can definitely assure you I'm not like them at all. Although you may not trust me—and I shall do whatever it takes to prove myself worthy of your trust—their corruption has not tainted me. I'll do whatever it takes to end that corruption before it infects others and brings about the fall of our heaven. You have my word on that, and I endeavor to keep it."

"Your word means nothing to me, Mercury, _nothing,_ " Rosaliya hissed at her with emphasis on that last word. "You may be different from them now, but what's to say you won't become like them in the near future? Why should I believe you? How can I even trust you then?"

"You don't even trust her now despite having approved of her staying with us!" Lil said to put forth another point in the debate which had now become heated. Rane and Macarona attempted to intervene before it escalated out of further control, though Mercury conceded the point.

"What happens in the future is known only to mediums who are well versed in foresight. I do not know what happens in the future, nor do I even want to know because it may be unpleasant. It may show this world's heaven in a better state without Elux or with her, it might show I've failed to prevent its destruction due to the circumstances of corruption. Anything can happen, though I'm doing all I can to prevent a bad future from obliterating our heaven because of Elux's venality. It's not an optimistic approach, true, and you are correct to doubt my integrity, Rosaliya; my only hope is that one day there will be no more vices in our heaven, and I strive to stop them when I can."

Rosaliya didn't object any further, yet continued to stare disapprovingly at Mercury as the argument began to end so the atmosphere could clear. Everyone else thought it was over when the Devil brought up another notion which she also put forth towards the older angel. "It was Ushio." Lil, Macarona, and Rane all watched her in confusion. "He's the one who told you about us, right?"

Mercury shut her eyes and tipped her head down. "I cannot ever break a promise since that would only taint me with corruption. That being said, however, he did say I let him go two nights ago for giving me information on all of you when the police arrived to arrest him yesterday. Since that no longer binds me to that promise," here she opened her eyes and went on, "I can confirm its validity. Yes, the Colonel gave me information in exchange for his release from my team's custody and healing his wounds from when you all threw him out. I know you all disapprove of that."

"Whoa, whoa, time out!" Macarona spoke up to help Rane prevent another argument from starting just when the last one ended already. "What's this about information on everyone?"

"There was something on that angel I slew back at the keep on Friday night—I believe it's what you refer to as a wiretap, correct?—on that angel. He eavesdropped on our conversation and attempted to assassinate us all," Rosaliya explained. "Granted, the note on him did describe it was to jeopardize the mission to get Mercury killed, but the fact remains she must've known about it."

"I ordered it, in fact," Mercury admitted, feeling ashamed for deceiving them.

"Wait, you commanded him to spy on us?!" Lil asked in surprise.

"Only to determine the severity of odds against our success based on who was present. The Colonel only told us a bit, but I was able to glean some identities from him and propose questions why everyone who attended had come," Mercury now took up the explanation from her viewpoint. "He said Rane was there with Reficul and Sin—that's three of you—though he also said the Queen attended as well which led to him making a descriptive remark which I assumed was you, Lil. That brought me to the five known individuals who were there, yet the Colonel mentioned Macarona to make six and he also claimed she was from the Gray Garden. We know of that place because Ivlis invaded and our intelligence reports confirm that; Elux has no interest in even caring about it, just to make that clear. His explanation left us with the identities of six individuals I wanted to examine via espionage to investigate why you were all here this weekend with Reficul and Sin."

"Another reason why we shouldn't trust you…" Rosaliya muttered rudely.

"True, I shan't deny that either," Mercury admitted with a nod. "However, his information revealed the presence of a seventh individual—you, Rosaliya. However, I did not know it was you until you slew my men because his remark about you was vague. The Colonel said the seventh had been a girl in pink, which could be anybody wearing pink attire. As I said, I only wanted to glean more information via espionage so I could determine whether we may have been successful in our mission. The fact some if not all of you are superior in strength to my men puts the odds in your favor as I'd be the only threat you'd need to worry about; with them already having been eliminated easily at first, you could all team up on me and I'd lose in an instant without making progress."

"But didn't you prove that you couldn't kill Reficul because you didn't want to?" Rane had asked just to be sure that Mercury really wasn't turning hostile all of a sudden and also to confirm she actually didn't mean to show hostility towards them by trying to kill them all.

"I did and I still don't; that would've ultimately been our certain failure, which I knew was going to happen anyway because the mission was meant to have been a failure even if I succeeded."

"Just because you come clean about that now doesn't mean we should trust you," Rosaliya commented, still using her critical tone. "The others may forgive you, but I certainly don't."

"I'm not asking for it," Mercury responded, unfazed by the rude remark because there was definitely a ring of truth to it. Whether she liked it or not was difficult to determine. "My apologies for having kept that much from all of you since I was under orders. You may understand my stance on this issue, or you may not. Whichever the decision, it is yours to make and I shall not force you all to decide whether I should be forgiven or even understood, or not. The ball's in your court."

"I don't speak for everyone, Mercury, but you've earned my trust despite this revelation in regards to your position," Lil reaffirmed her friendship and faith in the older angel. "Your wittiness is simply amazing! I wish you could teach me how to make use of that humor up your sleeve."

"It's all about self-deprecation and sarcasm via deadpanning in crass satire," Mercury gave her a key secret to the success of her own style of humor. "You want it to be funny, be insensitive." She displayed a small smile, happy to have been of help. "Go ahead and adopt it if you want."

"I think I will!" Lil sounded pleased with that approval even as Rosaliya didn't.

"So, you think it's funny for a child to serve as her world's Devil?! You believe espionage is some crude prank angels like yourself like to pull on others to purposely spy on them?!"

"Calm down, Rosaliya, Mercury didn't mean anything by it," Rane held her hands up as a means of defending the older angel without wanting to aggravate the Devil any further. "She only answered Lil's request, her comment was not directed at you. Please, let's just stop fighting."

"Right, we're heading into town to have fun," Macarona smiled in agreement to help Rane soothe the situation so it didn't get worse. "Why don't we just put this whole thing behind us? We can still enjoy the rest of the day and talk about other things instead of bickering over the past."

Rosaliya sighed, realizing the younger angel and the spider demon were correct. Although it wasn't their statement, the Devil knew her own behavior was somewhat bordering on that of the child she was teased about being. Granted, she technically was even though she was more mature than other children in her world, but that was only because of her terrible past. Still, she needed to concede the argument and regain her composure because it not only reflected herself, but her world as well. "Very well, I'll stop the discussion here and now with my apologies for having shown my animosity concerning what was spoken of. I'll endeavor to contain my anger to not spoil the day."

"Same here," Mercury agreed. "I'm also sorry things got out of hand."

"Fair enough," Rosaliya assented and looked over to Lil, expecting an apology from her.

"What? What're you looking at me for?" the demon asked sheepishly. "I didn't do a thing."

"I'm sure that's her way of apologizing," Macarona said with a sheepish smile to brighten the mood. "In any case, we're almost there and should be disembarking soon enough." She actually meant to calm the Devil down while making sure Rosaliya was comfortable in her embrace. Even so, she also flashed a smile at Rane which the spider demon returned, their personal reward for the avoidance of an argument that could've erupted into a heated conflict between the angel and Devil. That certainly would've caused discord amongst them, hence why they sought to prevent it.

"Sure, whatever…" Rosaliya uttered somberly, lost amidst nostalgia of her memories.

Nobody dared interrupt her. Rane, Mercury, and Lil all knew what she was thinking about and were kind enough to not jolt her from that trip down memory lane. Only Macarona hadn't the faintest clue about what bothered Rosaliya so much, though she knew well enough to give the poor girl some space to think about it. The Devil hadn't chosen to tell her what was wrong, so she didn't push Rosaliya to elaborate on what was already alluded to any further out of concern and respect for her. They considered themselves as friends and wanted that friendship to last, hence why all of them dropped the subject while Lil and Mercury began conversing on the latter's sense of humor. Rane also got in on that, but Macarona and Rosaliya just looked out the window together in silence.

Eventually they passed through a gate serving as the threshold into Tani Pasu, a quaint little town within the valley with an amazing view of a nearby mountain chain across a vast meadow of tall grass. Stone bricks were arrayed in the pavement of the street with two sides elevated to be the sidewalks on either side. The houses all looked different, though each appeared to follow the styles of Sukiya-zukuri and Shoin-zukuri architecture. Small shops and other buildings like the food store were constructed in a more modern style of concrete that contrasted with the traditional feel of an old-fashioned village. "So, what do you think of Tani Pasu?" Rane asked as the carriage passed by as some of the citizens who were more attentive than others caught sight of angelic wings through the windows and started whispering amongst themselves—apparently they too heard about the two angels in the underworld and had reservations about them, but didn't act on their concerns. "I know it might not seem like much and a couple of you may have seen it before—you especially, Rosaliya since I've been to your world before with Sin the last time we got together to hang out."

"Indeed, this is the architectural style for several of the settlements in my world," the Devil confirmed it while Lil watched the buildings go by and marveled at the sights of traditional homes and other spots like a park and a cemetery which also maintained a time-honored appearance with the same feeling as the houses. "I've been to a couple on official ceremonial business."

"We have a few towns and villages like this as well in the Gray Garden," Macarona stated, enjoying the remaining bit of time they spent in the carriage as it began to pull up onto a street and drop them off in front of Shiruku Nuno, the shop Rane and Sin worked at. "I've also visited some of them on occasions when I traveled to other places as a tourist and during the time I moved over to Gray Village. I simply love the traditional look of homes like this; it's nice to see how these are a perfect fit for the region this town's located in. One of the villages in my world is also by a valley similar to this one, and I happened to live near it years ago before I moved away."

"I wish there were places like this in my world," Lil remarked, unable to peel her eyes from the homes even as the carriage slowed down. "Your hometown is so simple, yet amazing, Rane! I would love to see your house later. What does it look like? I want to imagine it."

"The exterior has the aesthetics of a Shoin-zukuri—that style over there," Rane said as she pointed to one of the homes, "while the interior utilities and design were updated to fit the modern scale of construction. All of my furniture consists of modern and antique wares I've purchased. Its rustic look is a great contrast to the updated appearance inside, just like Tani Pasu itself."

"Seems like your home could be considered representative of the town," Mercury remarked once the carriage came to a stop and the driver hopped down to open the door for them.

"A lot of the homes here are," the spider demon clarified further, "mine's not the only one, but some of the residents here are really old-fashioned. Their homes are completely aesthetic each in the exterior and interior designs mainly because they're the town's oldest inhabitants who prefer to retain as much of the authenticity at home even if half of Tani Pasu and the other homes are the modern divergence to their lifestyle." Stepping out first and standing off to the side while the others disembarked, Rane held out an arm and shut her eyes to present Shiruku Nuno to them. "Well, we are here, girls, what do you think of the store? It has a nice Shoin-zukuri feel to it in addition to an updated architectural style that matches the concrete buildings, right?" She was right, it did appear to be like some of the homes since that was the style it had been constructed in, yet the walls were made of concrete and wood with modern display windows to show off the merchandise inside.

"Wow, it looks so nice and the interior is really neat and tidy! You sure have a wide variety of clothes in there, Rane," Lil complimented her, peering through the window. "You and Sin both must've worked real hard on these designs. Some of them look like they're from the Flower World! Isn't that a neat little coincidence, eh?" She eagerly went over to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked until Rane produced a key to unlock it so she could admit her friends into the store.

"Yep, some of the materials and designs come right from Rosaliya's world since we're part of a chain store located in some worlds," Rane explained briefly. "Unlike most stores in such units, each one in ours is managed individually instead of being handled by a central agency. What we're all sharing is the name only to recognize each store as a link in the chain. Each store involved can generate its own revenue and keep it to themselves as payment for the manager and employees of each. Even so, we still contact one another for materials when needed and make necessary payment for them. This shop in particular is the first link in the chain; more are located throughout the world and in the Flower world too as part of a commercial deal we made with Rosaliya's world. Recently I heard from Sin that some shops in the Gray Garden will feature the same merchandise as well."

"I read about that in the news on Friday before I left," Macarona commented on that. "Gray Village has a sweet store for clothes, so I'll be sure to pick up some of these designs sometime."

"Thanks, don't forget to mention you visited this store where the clothes come from!" Rane remarked in appreciation as everyone entered and started to look around while the spider demon's presence suggested the store was open. She made sure to leave the sign hanging on the door turned on the side that said the store was closed, but stayed at the entrance to explain it was only open for friends today with business returning to normal as usual tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest.

"Certainly, I'll make a note of that," the young angel said with a smile and walked over to a counter where mittens were being displayed. She found a pair that matched the color scheme of her clothes and tried them on, immediately becoming fond of the woolly fabric. Rane had said they could take up to a few items as gifts and souvenirs and Sin agreed with her that some of the items they had on sale could be given to their otherworldly friends for free so long as they did not claim too many for themselves like Lil had done and wound up and literally paying for one time. She did not mind buying them then because she paid for it with money she took from her husband's vault, and didn't care what he thought about her spending spree in a single shop. Though Macarona could have paid for more than the amount she received, she figured she wouldn't go above the set limit.

They had already been there for a relatively brief time when Macarona saw Rosaliya by an area where scarves were displayed on another counter. She would've gone up to the Devil to make pleasant conversation among friends, but stopped short of doing so because from the angle she had seen her at, it appeared Rosaliya wanted time to herself for a bit. The Flower Devil already seemed to have found a few things she wanted, and the final item apparently garnered a somber response. She shed a tear and wiped it away before Macarona slowly ambled away to give her space, yet the other angel among them simply walked up to her upon noticing Rosaliya's sadness. "Hey, you feel okay, Rosaliya?" Mercury asked, stepping up with a concerned expression on her face.

The Devil sighed, storing the muffler she picked up in a bag Rane provided them. "What's it to you, Mercury?" she asked bitterly, wanting to avoid her so she didn't contribute to yet another situation like the one they participated in during the ride over. "You already know how I feel."

"I do, and I know I've implied this before, but I really am not like the other angels and our Goddess. Although I've never met the man personally, what he's done to you is unforgivable. That I understand well despite having only read the case file on the incident. None of those subordinates under him had ever come to Elux since they identified more with other deities in different worlds, so I heard no personal testimonies from them, or any demons who may have traveled to your world when it happened. Besides, I wasn't born then. Still, I am deeply sorry from the bottom of my heart that suffered not just the torture he put you through, but also the loss of your parents—also because of the torture," Mercury explained with her apology. "You may not believe me when I say it, nor will I ever force you to. Still, it does appear you are healing because you and Macarona are pretty close despite having only just met; granted, I too have only just met you, but the point I want to make is that not everyone is like that man. You understand that, don't you, Rosaliya?"

Rosaliya was still suspicious of her, yet Mercury did have a point because she had become a good friend of Macarona—and Macarona was an angel, yet not like him at all. It didn't seem like the older angel was lying about that, or about what they discussed in the carriage, so the Devil felt Mercury might've been right which did alleviate some of the tension concerning that man. With a sigh, she decided to concede the point. "Yes…what happened then is too horrible. My leniency on angels does contradict that which I'm well aware of, so you are right that not every angel is mostly like him in a way. Macarona certainly doesn't give off that vibe which is why I'm at ease by her."

"Not to sound vain or brag about it, but neither do I," Mercury pointed out. "Yet merely an association to a Goddess like Elux who is definitely like him in more ways than one regarding his treatment of demons is the only signal you need to suspect my intentions. It does raise red flags, I know, though sometimes one has to look only at the individual alone and not consider the whole."

"True, though you claim to be unique amongst a heaven of corrupt angels led by an equally corrupt Goddess who egotism knows no bounds," the Devil offered a counterargument. This time it came across in a more toned down approach with a calmer attitude than before.

"Indeed, that is certainly suspicious and contributes to those red flags," Mercury admitted, "especially since I have no proof other than my own word. Yet Reficul and Sin trust me and so do the others even without concrete evidence because they have chosen to believe in me. As I'm well aware of my untrustworthiness, that is appreciated since they see me without looking at Elux."

"But when I look at you, Mercury, I see uncertainty mainly because of him."

"Exactly, you're basing your perspective on your tragic past involving him," Mercury also conceded that as well. "There is nothing wrong with that at all because the past can help shape and mold our opinions of one another, though living in the past is not always healthy in that regard due to a fear of progression, moving on and recovering from all the bad things in the past."

"That's true…" Rosaliya uttered softly, shutting her eyes. "But how do I deal with it? I can only speak of it to others, and I'll never forgive him for what he did to me and my parents."

"You don't have to even though everyone does deserve redemption at some point. They'll feel guilty after much time has passed, however long that is, hence why they feel like making some amends for what they've done to try and make everything better. Although they might want others to forgive them and are desperate for forgiveness, sometimes they'll accept the fact others merely consider and understand they are sorry," Mercury explained, shutting her eyes. "Discussing it with others can help as you said, and in my personal opinion, I believe you should tell someone who's not heard of it before so they can get one side of the story before consulting for the other to validate it and form his or her own perspective. Of everyone here and not here, only Macarona doesn't even know about it despite having become sort of familiar with it from our conversation before. I think you could try talking to her for her understanding, compassion, and support."

Rosaliya shut her eyes to ponder whether she was ready to relate her story to Macarona or not. Yes, she made that clear on Friday night during the test GriRea applied to the young angel as a means of getting a better impression of her—which succeeded, much to Reficul's dismay—plus she did consider Macarona to be a good friend. Although they had only known each other for about three days or so now with today being the third, she wondered if now was a good time to get it off her chest so it wouldn't stay bottled up. She eventually nodded, accepting the decision. "Yes, I do believe you're right, Mercury; though she won't be able to get his side for clarification because he is gone," she murmured and stepped past Mercury towards the door. "I'll be outside, watching the fog over the valley. Please be sure to have her come alone so I can speak with her in private."

"Certainly, as you wish," the angel agreed and headed over to where the others were having a conversation to help Lil decide on a coat from a selection she had difficulty picking from. "Hey, Macarona," she spoke up to get the other angel's attention as Rane and Lil also turned to her.

"Oh, what is it, Mercury?" Macarona inquired while Lil stepped forward.

"What do you think of this one, Mercury? It looks nice, doesn't it?"

"Sure does," Mercury nodded in agreement and then addressed Macarona again. "Rosaliya is outside waiting for you. She'd like to discuss something in private if you have time available."

"Sure, I'll head out to see her now," Macarona nodded and went over to the entrance where she sauntered out into the foggy weather. It was damp and moist, but not too thick as she could see the Devil seated on a bench across the street. Looking both ways and crossing once a couple horse drawn carriages went by after ensuring no more were coming, she found Rosaliya staring into the fog while holding the muffler in her hands and feeling the silky fabric of it. "You want to see me?"

"Sit, please," Rosaliya blinked, pausing to keep her eyes shut momentarily before opening them again to look at the muffler. "It's a nice piece; the ebony violet is like my father's hair," she complimented it, holding the muffler up to her face and pressing it against her chin. "He preceded me as the Devil of my world before I inherited his role thanks to my people, the spirits, along with the elementals." She sighed, having shut her eyes again while lowering her new muffler.

"You must've loved him very much," Macarona remarked kindly, having sat down because Rosaliya asked her to while relating that bit of information about her father. She didn't want to go too far in this matter because she thought whatever happened in the Devil's past included her father and maybe her mother as well. Making a comment that could've come across as insensitive would have only upset Rosaliya, so Macarona thought of sweet things to say instead. "He sounds nice."

"Indeed, he was the kindest soul my people and I have ever known…" Rosaliya trailed off slightly, turning to Macarona once her voice died down for the moment. "Mercury thinks I should tell you about it, what happened in my past and all to make me the individual I am now. While the time between our first meeting was short, you and I became friends so I believe she's right. You're the only person among us all who doesn't know the whole story whereas everyone else does, so it is only fair and proper that I inform you about it too so you too may understand my pain as well."

Macarona looked at her in concern and leaned back against the bench, setting her bag down next to her while putting an arm around Rosaliya. If the Devil wanted to speak about it now, she'd listen to her attentively and show her the compassion and support Rosaliya sought. "I'm all ears."

Rosaliya smiled at her through a half-lidded expression to show her appreciation. "Thanks for your kindness, Macarona," she said before turning away from her to stare into the fog again as she took a deep breath to compose herself. "This will bring back horrible memories even as it will also comfort me for having spoken about it to someone else like you to relieve stress, so I'll remain brief in my account of it. I don't want it to spoil the day for any of us because I still want to enjoy it, and I'm sure my parents wouldn't want me to feel this way." She took another deep breath and blinked several times to help clear her sight for peace of mind so she could begin the dark tale that had afflicted her throughout life. "My sorrows began the day he invaded while a religious festival was taking place in a village on the border of my underworld. My parents and I were there; it took place before I even cleared my first century. The God of our world, Liliya, ordered for the peaceful demons—as all of us were harmonious and kind—to be slaughtered. A cold blooded massacre had stained the earth that day; my parents and I were captured, tortured to death beyond remorse. Only I survived the torment that afflicted me for well over another century as I experienced their deaths."

"My god…how awful…" Macarona murmured quietly as Rosaliya tried hard not to choke out sobs of anguish, having begun to shed more tears the longer she recounted her terrifying tale.

"It was…" the Devil also spoke softly, sniffing somewhat. "Back then I wanted to die just to escape the pain, but he wouldn't allow it. Liliya took pleasure in torturing us sadistically, more so when he inflicted the torture on me. Of the three of us, I alone was put through the worst of it." She breathed deeply once more, trying her best to remain calm. "They died a few years into it, and I alone had survived them and was put through more of the pain which critically damaged my heart and my psyche. I believed I was going to die in his dungeons, hoping death would spare me more."

"But you lived on through more of it and survived, eventually getting out," Macarona said compassionately with a warm smile. "You're safe among friends now, and he will never harm you ever again. We'll always be right by your side to protect and support you, Rosaliya."

Rosaliya smiled at her through the sad tears pouring down her face. "Yes…thank you, my friend. I am eternally grateful I have such kindhearted friends who will always stand by me." She raised her arm up to wipe away the tears, once again taking another deep breath before she finished the story. "I did manage to escape it all and survive, if not without psychological trauma of course. However, I had not broken free because it was impossible for me to escape on my own. Eventually the guilt of watching me suffer became unbearable for his subordinates. One by one became group by group, and soon everyone who followed Liliya abandoned him. The angels left, some going to other worlds never to return while others took pity upon me and reported his conduct to Justim, the God of all Gods. Liliya was brought to trial since he had taken pleasure in torturing us for his own amusement which was a war crime, and he was sentenced to an eternity in prison. The deities all took pity upon me and decided to name me as the sole ruler in charge of my world, offering their aid to help me govern my world successfully. I'm surprised they wanted to help."

"So it ended just like that?"

"Indeed, for the first time in existence the deities had all unanimously determined they had to show support for me because Liliya's actions not only tarnished his own reputation, but also the reputation of each and every one of them. He was a pure monster, and they condemned him for all the crimes he committed unto me, my parents, and my underworld in our absence. Liliya had been a corrupt war criminal in my world through and through; Mercury believes he may want to redeem himself, but I don't care because I will never forgive or understand him—I don't want to. I wasn't offered a place among the other deities on their council as I was a demon who had eventually been named the Devil of my world, but they nonetheless displayed much compassion towards me. They agreed to never invade my world and would help me govern it when I required their aid. This was quite a milestone for peace between angels and demons in that regard, much like the achievement of it in your world, Macarona; but in any case, they still couldn't get along with the demons within their own worlds even though they were kind and considerate towards me because of Liliya."

"His actions must've shocked them into thinking that even they might've been like him at times," Macarona presumed innocently, wondering if his corruption had an impact on them which forced the deities into considering their own actions towards demons while pondering whether the conflict between their respective sides could get monstrously ugly like what Liliya had done.

"Perhaps," Rosaliya agreed and took one more deep breath, gladly grateful for having told the narrative of her pain. "And now it appears we have another corrupt deity: Elux. She'd not been around when Liliya committed his crimes, so she's relatively new considering how much time had passed since his imprisonment. She hasn't done anything in this world as of yet to warrant a similar reaction from the other deities as far as I know, though her own actions in the wars against Reficul are in bad taste all the same regardless of whether or not she's punished. I believe the other deities don't do anything about her because her conduct doesn't border on Liliya's just as several of them may also do things similar to what she does. That could explain why she's still in power."

"Well, hopefully she doesn't do anything as bad as Liliya," Macarona commented, wishing her friends the best of luck. "I couldn't bear to even think about how bad she may become."

"Same here," Rosaliya agreed with a small smile. "Still, there might be malevolent deities just as there may be malevolent Devils. Yet we are not malevolent, Macarona. The friendship each of us shares with one another: you, Rane, Sin, Reficul, and I, and even Lil, Mercury and the Queen to include them as well, is amazingly benevolent. For the first time in my life—aside from when I received aid from all the other deities, that is—I'm beginning to believe it is possible for angels to be at peace with demons and not have to fight each other. Granted, not every world must follow a concept like that, but we're all from different worlds and can still share that value of friendship."

"Right," Macarona smiled and shut her eyes as she concurred with that statement. "Though we all might not be able to truly help one another at times because affairs in our own worlds might keep us from actively supporting each other in conflict, we can still maintain our friendship."

"Yes, we certainly can," Rosaliya smiled softly. "Speaking of which, might I ask what you would do in that situation out of idle curiosity? Would you be willing enough to disagree with your world's decisions to remain neutral and out of the way when conflicts erupt that engulf any of your otherworldly friends like us? It is okay to remain neutral, but I just want to hear your thoughts."

"Certainly, I would have to be neutral if it's a personal affair on a national scale within one world, but if it involves only me in some way and I'm allowed to get involved, I'll see what I could do. I may wind up putting the Gray Garden at risk in the process, but I know others there understand the virtue of friendship can be strong even between worlds and could forgive me for what happens because of my good intentions to help others. We are definitely peacefully united; that unity makes us strong because we're not alone as all of us are together, working alongside one another to ensure peace and harmony between angels and demons is preserved forever. Our otherworldly friendship would most definitely be welcomed in my world, so I'm sure we'll think of something to help even if it means having to pick a side so long as we're good friends with that side. Still, we do favor the art of diplomacy in affairs, so we will do everything we can to ensure matters can be handled with peace rather than violence because that would only cause pain for everyone like us, including you."

"But of course, I couldn't have said it better myself, Macarona. Your logic is very profound and enriching," Rosaliya murmured in agreement, glad to have bonded with the angel over this. "I wish there could be an end to conflict between angels and demons too despite the fact it is a natural law. Yet your world and mine have gone against it in our own ways so everything can be at peace in our worlds. Other worlds may think differently due to this natural law we follow, but hopefully there can be more exceptions that can be forgiven and overlooked for the sake of peace."

"I couldn't agree more," Macarona remarked, thankful for their friendship. Even if conflict were to engulf one another, she just knew her friends would always be there to help her throughout the conflict and whatever pain it caused. And she too would be there for them as well as a friend.

…

 **Rosaliya's certainly had quite a tragic past, but the wikia doesn't go into detail about it that much. It does allude to Liliya having done something to harm her which caused all of his subordinates to leave him, so it sounded like it must've been something serious. Based on that tidbit, I speculated that what I've covered about Rosaliya and Liliya in this chapter may be a possible reason why that is. I believe it is possible that he did in fact torture her and her parents with them dying in the process leaving Rosaliya as the sole survivor. It's speculation on my part of what might be in canon, though this idea is non-canon as far as I know. It may also be quite possible that Liliya's actions were so awful that he really could be considered a kind of war criminal (I don't like war criminals because of the crimes they commit). Ergo, it felt in character with the idea of his followers abandoning him to cut all ties with him because they too were likely responsible for what happened to Rosaliya and couldn't stand that guilt and the thought of being punished as collaborators for working with Liliya to torment her.**

 **My heart goes out to those who suffer because of war crimes. Such crimes are heinous and could be considered inhuman. I hope people who have suffered find closure and recover from the damage war crimes have caused in their lives. It may be difficult to find comfort as whatever happened is extremely tragic, though I do hope their wounds can heal in time.**

 **Not to change gears right away, though I also wanted to clarify that Mercury's humor is based on British humor because I thought that could also fit in with her character. There's nothing further on it in this chapter aside from the allusion to it, but it may work out fine.**

 **I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**


	9. Chapter Nine: Instant Fame

"Hot damn, that sure hit the spot! Nothing like a refreshing soda to rejuvenate oneself after a meal like that! I could go for another of those sweet pierogis!" Lil exclaimed, seated in between Rane and Mercury, having downed an entire glass of soda which made her belch. It wasn't ladylike of her to have done it, yet the comedy in it certainly made everyone but Rosaliya giggle. The Devil merely rolled her eyes and sighed, deadpanning with a facepalm to boot because the demon merely embarrassed herself. And yet Lil clearly didn't seem to care about dignity or grace, no matter how many times she was instructed to be a proper lady instead of acting like a child without restrictions. How this lady managed to marry a Devil was beyond them, but they didn't discuss it because they were having too much fun going around town seeing the sights. "Man, I love this place! It's so old and tranquil it really establishes such a harmonious mood. Good eats, a beautiful valley, and friends to share it all with; this is the life, my friends!" she laughed as the waitress came over with a check.

"It certainly is," Mercury concurred with her, feeling stuffed from the lasagna served here. She used some of the money from her cut of the earnings she had won with Macarona and GriRea yesterday to pay for her meal, leaving only a little bit left as pocket change for anything she thought of getting as a gift for Reficul and Sin as additional thanks for letting her stay for the weekend. As she raised her own glass of soda to finish what little was left, she smiled at Lil. "By the way, Lil," she added, pointing at the demon, "soda will make you thirsty for something else to drink later."

"Like another soda?" Lil inquired casually, also paying for her own meal like the others.

"If you want to ruin your teeth and get cavities, be my guest," Rosaliya uttered blandly and stretched her arms in the air, putting one around Macarona as a friendly gesture.

"Oooh, I don't like the sound of that." It seemed the Devil's comment subdued her slightly as Lil tried to suppress a shudder, appearing to dislike the thought of having a dentist examine the imaginary tooth decay. Her teeth were still perfectly fine, and she was healthy and fit as a fiddle.

"One of my friends in Gray Village feels the same way, Lil," Macarona remarked casually. "She's odontophobic and can't go see the dentist alone unless a friend goes with her for support."

"Sounds like she might be one of those people who would rather avoid going," Rane stated as they all began to leave once they finished paying. "I know a guy who always puts it off."

"For someone as scared of the dentist as she is, Chelan actually goes if Dialo's in the room with her to hold her hand while the dentist checks her teeth. Her teeth are pretty good and she has never had a single cavity; she even has all of her adult teeth too, but the wisdom teeth will certainly be a traumatic experience for her. Having all of them removed…" Macarona explained and winced, putting on her jacket and taking her umbrella. "She will be sore after that since Dialo told me she's unlucky to have all four wisdom teeth, but that won't last long since she'll be healed afterwards."

"Yikes, that sounds terrible!" Lil shuddered nervously, recalling the feeling. "I've only had to get one pulled, but man it was painful for a while. She'll certainly try to avoid that."

"She might," the young angel shrugged. "I'm lucky to not have any at all. Still, I feel bad for Chelan and I know it's going to scare her more than other visits to the dentist twice a year. The healers in our world are very good as they don't charge extra for healing, so it's not all bad."

"Jeez, having wisdom teeth must be rough," Rane remarked since she too felt nervous due to the topic they were discussing. "I'm also glad I don't have any either. One or two is doable, but three and four must be hell to go through." She stretched her arms up behind her head, legs clicking on the sidewalk as the five of them ambled down it. "Change of subject, but what else do you want to do while we wait for the others? There are quite a few sights to see in Tani Pasu, some of which are quite historic like the cemetery we passed by before. We could even go for a walk in the valley to explore the area beyond the borders of town; there's a lovely vista overlooking a small mountain cliff with hills and some trees and a lake. It's such an atmospheric view on a day like today."

"A stroll through the valley sounds nice," Rosaliya murmured in agreement, "though I must say we should stick to town because they might be wondering where we are. We mustn't get split up again like yesterday, accidently or otherwise." That last word was meant to chide Lil for having left the Queen unattended, which garnered a statement from her despite not being too bothered.

"Hey, she said she left me," Lil retorted in self-defense. "That wasn't my fault."

"After you first told us you left her after saying you likely lost her," Rosaliya retorted back. "I'm more inclined to side with Her Majesty regardless of what you have to say for yourself, Lil."

"Come on, Rosaliya, at least give her some credit," Rane spoke up in defense of the demon. "She did help look for her even if it might've been in the wrong places at times, so the issue could be overlooked since she made the effort to help. Don't be so hard on her since all worked out."

"I'm hard on her because she has no concept of proper behavior as a lady of her status. She is honestly one of the most unruly individuals I know, even if her laidback attitude is a good point."

"Pfff, who gives a shit about rules and stuff when such things restrict you more than provide you with the freedom you crave," Lil uttered, brushing the notion aside with her own logic.

"True, laws and rules can certainly limit what one can and cannot do," Mercury nodded in agreement, sticking her hands in her pockets while sharing Rane's umbrella with the spider demon. "We've got a lot of rules up in my heaven, but the most important ones are central to Elux herself: serve her, worship the ground she walks on, and always agree with everything she says. You either follow her instructions, or be punished simply for disagreeing with her on anything, really."

"She doesn't take opposition well, it seems," Macarona commented as she remembered to pose a question regarding how Elux became the Goddess. "By the way, how exactly did she acquire her status as a Goddess? Rosaliya said Elux wasn't around back when she was tortured before the God of her world was imprisoned for war crimes. Had she risen to power since then, Mercury?"

The older angel shrugged. "Beats me to be honest. I'm not that old myself; I'm over a few centuries old in this world, and I haven't actually spent much of it in Elux's service. I traveled the worlds for the most part, studying other heavens and underworlds directly. I was even accepted as an apprentice to a Witch of Robotics with another pupil who became her successor—that's how I got all my knowledge about engineering, cyber electronics, and security. When I returned, Elux already succeeded the old God. Whether it was legitimate or not is hard to say as many say he died peacefully and appointed her; assassination rumors were gradually quashed by her over time."

"If the rumors of his assassination had been suppressed, I'd say there may have been a ring of truth to them," Rosaliya commented to ponder on that for a few moments by thinking aloud.

"Perhaps, especially since Elux's first instinct is to execute the proponents of such rumors on the spot without hesitation. She's outlawed them and ordained that anyone who thinks about it is automatically wrong and guilty of treason, hence why she kills them," Mercury explained. "She killed the rumors by killing their advocates—two birds with one stone, so to speak, or so she thinks. Elux is unaware that in doing so, she is effectively proving the point whether she did it or not. Yet everyone believes her word for it, many of whom fervently worship her devoutly while some fear her. It's a harsh heaven under the thumb of a dictator like her, but she secured their favor easily."

"One has to wonder how she managed to successfully pull off an assassination of a deity," Macarona murmured curiously, wondering if it was possible. "Deities are powerful like Devils; it sounds incredibly difficult for someone of a status and skill weaker than them to commit the crime unless it was through a subtle conspiracy stealthily slinking along like Project Dynol Peiriant."

"Indeed, it does," the Devil among them concurred with the statement. "It's plausible since it's one of the only means of securing power by slaying a deity or a Devil for that matter."

"Well, it's not like discussing it will change anything for the better in that regard," Lil said.

"Quite right," Mercury agreed. "At this stage it is only mere gossip—gossip that could lead to a potential riot or rebellion if evidence supports it, or if the proponents are punished for talking."

"Sounds like Elux is definitely causing the latter," Rane remarked, "but it's true discussing the matter alone isn't going to really change anything for that matter. Even so, you're safe talking about it all you want here, Mercury. Nobody else from your heaven should be watching us if your theory about how Elux might've proceeded with the assassination attempt on Reficul is true."

"Exactly, and thank you," the older angel murmured, having related everything else about her mission to them over lunch. The other customers and employees of the diner they ate at weren't too happy with her for having even brought that up, but they were dissuaded from taking action to keep her from going against her beliefs about keeping the Devil of their world alive. Mercury and everyone else alleviated their fears as the four of them personally spoke up in her defense, as well as for Macarona who they also believed was another of Elux's angels at first until that was clarified. "It means a lot to me knowing I've got freedom of speech down here unlike in my heaven."

"Then feel free to say whatever the hell you want," Lil offered, putting an arm around her. "No one will stop you from making your voice heard here. I'm sure glad for it because—and sorry for bringing him up, Rane," she quickly apologized to Rane before saying it, "my dipshit husband won't let me speak freely. He's kind of like Elux in that regard because of the whole system of the patriarchs having the say in the family and society. I hate it, but I'm sure glad this underworld lets me speak my mind on anything I want whenever I want to make my voice heard by everyone."

"You must enjoy coming here more often than meeting in yours," Macarona remarked with a smile, thinking her friend liked it here a whole lot better than in her own underworld.

Lil smiled back. "Damn straight! It's a hell of a lot better than mine!"

"Well, I'm glad you all enjoy it here," Rane commented, grateful to her friends for having such high regards for the underworld she and Reficul's family—which she was a part of as she'd been adopted by them—belonged to. "I've never been to other worlds except Rosaliya's, though I would love to visit your world someday Lil; yours too, Macarona. It's a shame you're not allowed to have friends over, Lil, but like we've said on Friday, you're more than welcome to visit us."

"Yeah, you girls did, and I'm eternally grateful to you both for welcoming me where I can be free from the massive restrictions on me in my underworld. Having friends like you is a blast!"

"Indeed, I too am thankful for being able to escape the confines of my heaven without the concern of Elux and the other angels observing my movements and phrases burdening me," came a concurring statement from Mercury which made Macarona pose another question to her.

"Ah, yes, you and Reficul used to work together, right? Are there other angels like you?"

"Yeah, there's Luna, whom I've mentioned yesterday to you and Her Majesty; she runs the diplomatic affairs between other heavens as the Head of Foreign Affairs. Next is Mars, the shrewd Head of Chemical and Biological Studies which produces the respective weapons for that kind of warfare, plus he is also the Warden of the Gulag, the prison where political prisoners and demons are held captive with those who disagree with Elux. Finally, there's Sol, the Commander-in-Chief of Elux's army as the Head of Warfare; she's Elux's right hand lieutenant in the government. The three of them are a few of the well-known angels in our heaven, aside from myself—and Reficul, prior to her fall, that is. We're all split on who we serve: Reficul and I openly supported the people instead of Elux—she was the Head of Political Affairs and the Head of Domestic Affairs, by the way—while Mars and Sol are quite devout to Elux through and through. Luna is divided since she also supports the people, yet she's terrified of opposing Elux which is why she isn't against her."

"So that's all of your colleagues," Rosaliya commented to keep this information flowing.

"Right, though I don't consider Sol and Mars as colleagues," Mercury answered her.

"Fair enough, but what about you, Mercury? What departments do you lead?"

The older angel smiled, believing it was alright to brag about her accomplishments. "Why I'm the Head of Engineering, Cyber Electronics, and Security—three different departments, all of which are under my thumb thanks to the teachings of that witch I mentioned. Elux refuses to accept the fact that I am actually her greatest asset because of my skills, which can prove to be part of her downfall if I'm ever forced to go against her for the sake of my people. I designed tanks, turrets, and other technological means of warfare while helping construct them directly; I control the entire heaven-wide cyber network that enables me to direct cyber warfare and protect the network at the same time; and I am in charge of border patrols, network security as I said, and national security." She held up three fingers one at a time to count those aspects of her work off on them.

"Wow, you certainly juggle quite a lot on your shoulders!" Lil complimented her, amazed that Mercury was so awesome at being able to handle so much work. "You're a jack-of-all-trades!"

"Colonel Ushio said that too; I told him I'm one who mastered everything I know and then some. I'm a professional hacker, assassin, and sniper in addition to the other skills I mentioned."

"A professional assassin?" Rosaliya raised an eyebrow at that. "One who would fail to slay us all on her own? Bear in mind I no longer harbor any suspicions towards you, Mercury, but that is quite a difficult element to comprehend. Just how is it that you're a professional assassin?"

"To be fair, Rosaliya, just because one claims to be a professional something doesn't mean oneself is truly perfect in all regards concerning his or her skillset," Mercury responded, stretching her arms in behind her head as the group headed towards the cemetery. "Not to brag because I'm the best assassin in my heaven, but I know there are others more skilled than I who would go up against Devils, deities, and even powerful individuals like Her Highness. I guess that is one reason why I traveled before acquiring a job that ultimately landed me in the position I'm in now; in order to advance, one must dedicate themselves to working hard doing what they can and know based on experience in certain fields the individual should focus on because of education in those."

"So how did you learn the skills of an assassin and professional sniper?" Rane asked.

"I had a mentor for some time in another world who was a professional military sniper for his God, and I learned how to wield a sniper rifle and customize it from him. The same goes for a second mentor of mine in a different world. I've had so many teachers and I've committed what I learned from all of them to my long term memory. I've even had an opportunity to train under one family who themselves were taught by none other than the legendary demon and angel duo."

"Wait, you don't mean them, do you?" Lil inquired in excitement, apparently knowing the family or the duo Mercury mentioned, which the angel nodded affirmatively. "You seriously do?! Oh, that's so awesome! I've always wanted to meet them, but never had the chance to!"

"Yeah, the things I wanted to ask them…" Rane also appeared to know them too and began to imagine herself speaking to those individuals as they spoke, her eyes sparkling in amazement.

"That's most impressive, Mercury," Rosaliya complimented her. "To learn from those who were trained by two of the most elite individuals in existence is definitely something."

"So, who were they?" Macarona asked, knowing they were referring to the duo despite not being familiar with who they were herself because their conversation sounded a bit vague. "Sorry for asking, though I don't think I've heard of such a duo before. Could you tell me more, please?"

"Wait, you've never heard of them, Macarona?!" Lil exclaimed, surprised that one of them was not even familiar with the subject they started discussing. "You don't know of them?!"

"No, I'm afraid not," the young angel confirmed with a slight frown.

"It's to be expected," Rosaliya commented on her behalf. "Macarona's sixteen; she's never left her own world either except being imprisoned in Ivlis' underworld and visiting this one. It is certainly likely she is unaware of who we're referring to, so an explanation can clarify this matter for her." As she was sharing Macarona's umbrella with her, she only had to look up to address her. "The legendary due we're referring to are in fact none other than Rigatona and Yosaflame."

"Oh, them!" Macarona shut her eyes and grinned. "Yes, I do know them since I've done a bit of research on them, actually, and I'm even the reincarnation of Rigatona. She's my ancestor."

Her sudden revelation was shocking enough to make everyone stare at her through widened eyes of surprise and halt suddenly. They could do nothing but merely blink for a short while when Rane was the one who broke the calm silence. "Is that…" she murmured softly, "true, Macarona?"

Macarona giggled sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck, starting to feel like some kind of exotic relic being displayed in a museum for all to see. "Yeah, it is," she confirmed it while shutting her eyes without stammering or stuttering her words, unaware that their reaction was one of pure joy until the spider demon joined Lil in a bout of laughter as they both seized Macarona in an excited embrace. It didn't bother her, however, because she knew they were ecstatically happy.

"Wow, that's so awesome, Macarona!" Lil exclaimed happily, delighted to have become a close friend of the reincarnated descendant of Rigatona. "To think, you're related to a fabled angel famous throughout all the worlds as someone skilled enough to even take down several deities and Devils at once together with her best friend, the renowned Yosaflame! That's incredibly amazing!"

"What an honor it is being best friends with her reincarnated descendant!" Rane spoke up, also very excited at having discovered Macarona's ancestral roots. Their conduct began to draw a lot of attention from others who seemed to also know about the angel and demon duo, and they all whispered amongst themselves, wondering whether it was a good idea to approach her. Slowly, as a few dared to step up, more began to gather around them until a small crowd formed to meet her. "I'm so thrilled to have actually met somebody who shares the same bloodline as Rigatona!"

"W-well, I know it's true and all, but I honestly am not really too sure how that's unique," Macarona uttered somewhat sheepishly, noticing how other demons gathered around them.

"You're so special because Rigatona was such a skilled combatant and chivalrous to boot!" Lil explained briefly, unable to contain her excitement like Rane. "She and Yosaflame were more than just an angel and demon respectively; their friendship was so impressive, plus they're so smart and philosophical and they could really kick some ass if they wanted to! They were true knights a person could only dream to meet, and they were chivalrously master tacticians as well!"

"Indeed, you are most certainly full of surprises, it seems, Macarona," Rosaliya agreed and smiled up at her. "Not to upset Rane by mentioning them, which I'm sorry for, but my father told me stories about them when I was little, before Liliya invaded. Now here you are revealing you're the reincarnated descendant of Rigatona; although it cannot really be proven without evidence that can support your claim, I remember seeing a portrait of Rigatona and Yosaflame in the gallery my parents kept. Looking at you now that you mention it, I do remember their faces well and I'm quite positive you do bear a striking resemblance to Rigatona, Macarona. I must say I'm also honored."

"Thanks!" Macarona giggled, glad for their compliments despite feeling embarrassed. She enjoyed their friendship and cherished it well, and her revelation secured higher regards from them. Yet she was still unsure why a crowd formed around her now that it became public knowledge. "I appreciate the attention, but why have these other demons come over? Did they hear of my lineage too?" she asked, looking around at each of them when Mercury put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure they have," she remarked and looked around at the crowd. "You've gained quite a positive reputation in their eyes because of it. They might even want your autograph."

"O-oh, they do?" the young angel asked, still sheepish.

"I want one!" Rane declared happily in excitement.

"Me too!" Lil joined in too.

Macarona giggled, somehow liking the attention foisted onto her even though she couldn't help but still feel embarrassed because of it. "I guess I'm going to need something to write with."

…

"Wow, I'm beat…" she murmured and slumped down on a sofa in Rane's living room the group had gathered in once they arrived, exhausted from having signed all those autographs when she instantly became famous. "Man, the whole town must've been there today…"

"They certainly were," Rane remarked, seated on the angel's left while Lil took the right.

"I'm surprised at how many of them showed up in such a short timeframe," Mercury stated from another couch she and Rosaliya claimed with Sin once she arrived with Reficul and GriRea, having met up with them as Macarona was handling the affair. "Word travels fast here, huh, Rane? The population must not be that massive for such an ordinary town. How big is it?"

"It isn't, compared to other settlements in our world," Sin remarked with a chuckle. "There are only a total of about a hundred people in Tani Pasu. It's a tight knit community where everyone knows everybody's names which is actually surprising for a place this large. Smaller areas have a population significantly less than Tani Pasu, so it's to be expected they would know one another a bit better than the people here." She shut her eyes and took a sip of her tea. "I'm glad everybody's beginning to take a liking to Macarona, if only because of her ancestry. I'm sure they'll start to be a lot more accepting to her now that they know of her familial connection to Rigatona."

"Indeed, it isn't often one gets to meet someone connected so an individual well-known as an honorable figure even among demons," GriRea commented, drinking her own tea. "I must say, it is certainly surprising as Rosaliya's told me because I hadn't expected you to not only be a direct descendant of Rigatona, but her reincarnation as well." Her praise with its smile was most gracious.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Macarona bowed her head humbly in appreciation. "I haven't known of my bloodline to her until after Ivlis invaded my world, but I'm quite impressed with the knowledge I've acquired about her." Once Yosafire had shared her experience of being shown the past by Ivlis while recognizing her past self's identity, her friends had all become interested in that same topic as well and consulted books and others who had been alive during the war and after it. From the research she conducted, Macarona discovered her ancestor was the Commander-in-Chief of the angels' entire military force. It was the most prestigious post and she was quite famous since her skills in combat were far beyond recognition and she was a supreme tactician as well. Rigatona was perhaps a most honored angel among the angels back then, aside from Etihw and Wodahs for her impressive abilities. Although she appeared to have garnered some criticism since she was best friends with Yosaflame, the Commander-in-Chief of the demons' military force, that fact was later accepted because he too was a chivalrous individual like her who perfectly matched her skills. The bond was actually quite unlikely back then, but it worked out well for the two of them.

"You must've been amazed yourself once you learned about her, right?" Lil inquired while Macarona nodded to confirm how she felt back then, taking a deep breath and a sip of lemonade.

"Yeah, I certainly was. To have heard about her achievements for the angels with the sweet kindness she displayed towards the demons even though they were her foes back then was amazing in of itself. I thought at first her fame was only known within our world, but the fact I also learned about how she traveled around to other worlds suggested she might've also become known to some extent in others. I'm actually surprised myself at how renowned she appears to have become here."

"Not just here, mind you," Rosaliya spoke up. "She and Yosaflame are famous throughout all the worlds for the achievements they garnered in their world, humble and chivalrous behavior, and their endeavors in other worlds too. Like I said before, even I know of them too."

"That's true," Macarona conceded with a smile.

"What about your other friends? The ones from the Gray Garden?" Rane asked. "Are they descendants of heroes and heroines from the war in your world? Is one of them related to him?"

"Yes, they all are; Yosafire in particular is Yosaflame's reincarnated descendant."

"Wow, I've definitely got to meet her and get her autograph too!" Lil beamed excitedly.

"Same here!" Rane chirped.

"Sure, I'll let her know to prepare a couple for you," Macarona said with a smile.

"I would love one as well," Sin requested, turning to address Reficul sitting next to GriRea. "Well, what do you think, Refi? Macarona's certainly an incredible angel, isn't she?"

Reficul failed to suppress a shudder, knowing that must've also contributed to the imposing fear she instilled in the Devil. Even though Macarona was a nice girl, her ire was another story she dreaded provoking whether by accident or otherwise. "Y-yes, t-that explains it…" she murmured, the vague response somehow coming across as offensive to the young angel whose face darkened at the sound of it because Reficul unintentionally sent across the wrong message in her statement. Unfortunately, the Devil hadn't caught it until she heard the snake demon address her critically.

 _"Refi…"_ Sin glared at her, making Reficul utter a small squeak of fear while shrinking into the sofa next to the Queen who merely chuckled at the Devil's unfortunate blunder. "Explain what, Refi? What is it do you mean, exactly? That you also fear Macarona because of her ancestry?"

"N-no, of c-course not," Reficul quickly tried to fix the error of her wording. "T-that's not it—i-it's not what I-I meant. I-I was just referring t-to…" Her voice died out as she hesitated while trying to think of something she could say to alleviate the tension. "H-her resemblance, that's all." Macarona and Sin were a bit peeved at that response, but neither of them said anything; they merely shut their eyes and ignored her since they were both upset with the Devil for how she worded that first comment and the blatant lie she told to try appeasing them. Reficul knew she offended them again, and looked down while shuddering because she felt so guilty for having angered the two of them. Sin expected her to behave which she did somewhat as she wasn't around Macarona, but Reficul knew she had ruined part of their fun this weekend. She had nobody to blame but herself.

Although Lil and GriRea chuckled at her misfortune, Rane was considerate enough to alter the subject to another topic so Reficul wouldn't feel uncomfortable due to Macarona and Sin being angry with her. "So, what does everyone want for dinner, later? We had discussed ordering takeout like pizza or something earlier when the three of you were back in the city. Any ideas, anyone?"

"Pizza!" Lil exclaimed, shooting her right arm in the air with a smile, forming a fist.

"Yes, same toppings I mentioned before: pepperoni and mushrooms," Mercury added.

"And extra cheese!" Lil spoke up again.

"I could also go for pizza too," Rane murmured while everyone else but Reficul and GriRea agreed with the decision. "Great, I'll order a couple whole pies! Everyone's okay with the toppings Mercury suggested, right?" she asked to which the others nodded while Macarona added another.

"Sure, I'd also like olives on a couple slices too if possible."

"Oh, that's a good one," Sin agreed. "We can have one with two and another with three."

"And the extra cheese," came the reminder from Lil.

"Yes, Lil, I'll order it with extra cheese too," Rane uttered to accommodate her.

"Why not just put everything on both?" Mercury suggested. "I'll take olives too."

"Some salads would be nice," Rosaliya offered up another suggestion that Rane noted once everyone also agreed to that—even GriRea was fine with that, though the Queen posed an inquiry.

"What is pizza, exactly?" she asked, having never heard of it before.

"It's a circular crust of bread cooked in an oven with tomato sauce and cheese on it. There are also a variety of toppings that can go on it like the ones we mentioned," Sin explained for her.

"There's also white pizza which has ricotta cheese instead of sauce," Macarona added.

"I see…" Her Highness murmured, wondering whether she should try it or not. "How does one eat it? Is it something one can eat with a fork and knife, or do you actually have to hold it?"

"Both methods are viable, but most people usually prefer the latter," Rosaliya commented. "Personally, I prefer to cut it into bite sized pieces so the sauce doesn't get on my dress."

"Same here," Macarona agreed while Sin also nodded to concur with them.

GriRea shut her eyes to ponder her decision, eventually opening them moments later once she came to one and chose to go with it. "Very well, I shall give it a try and see what it tastes like."

"Alright, I'll make the order. What about you, Reficul?" the spider demon turned to her as she was the only one who hadn't said anything about it—possibly because she didn't want to take the risk of upsetting Sin and Macarona further. "Are you alright with pizza, or something else?"

"N-no, I'm fine with it, you can make the call," the Devil murmured softly, still attempting to regain her composure from having embarrassed herself again by angering those two.

"Okay, I'll go order the pies; be right back," Rane commented and walked into her kitchen to pick up the phone inside after passing through the sliding tatami door. "I'll just call from in here so I don't interrupt anything the rest of you are talking about. I'll just be a minute or two."

"Certainly, take your time, dear," Sin remarked as the spider demon sauntered off. "So, as the weekend is wrapping up soon after tonight, I'd like to know what everyone thought of it. Have any of you enjoyed it like I have, and is there anything else we could've done for next time?"

"I thought it was great!" Macarona answered first. "I had quite a lot of fun coming here to spend time with you all and become good friends. I've definitely got some fun stories for everyone back home to look forward to, and I'd love to come back and see you all again real soon."

"Likewise," Lil agreed with the young angel. "Nothing needs changing, all was good, plus we can always think of stuff to do at the next gathering beforehand or on the spot."

"Indeed, I enjoyed it as well, and I think Lil has a point for once," Rosaliya concurred.

"It was certainly an interesting vacation away from my reign," GriRea nodded with a small smile. "I am quite fond of it also, though I myself may not be able to come again as often because of my duties. Tending the underworlds and governing them all through the Devils is serious work."

"Because you didn't even know how to have fun to begin with until you came," Lil joked. She would've gone further and teased Her Majesty a bit more, but a cold glare from the Queen had been enough to quiet her so Mercury could provide her own opinion of the affair as well.

"Same here, I also liked getting away from work to take a break from it. Unfortunately for me, I can't come ever again on free initiative because Elux and her cronies will watch me closely."

"That is a shame, my friend," Reficul murmured somberly, having appreciated the angel's company because of the bond she and Mercury shared. "I will sincerely miss having you over." It was kind of her to say that in regards to Mercury which the snake demon didn't mind even though she still wished the Devil would get over her fear of Macarona and enjoy the weekend, not ruin it. However, Sin didn't say anything else about that since she turned back to Macarona once more.

"So, Macarona, since we've only got tonight left, is there anything else you want to ask us as this is your first time in our company? Feel free to pose additional inquiries if any."

"Thanks, there's actually something I've been meaning to ask, but haven't put it forth yet," the young angel replied and then placed her inquiry out there so others could answer it. "Rosaliya has mentioned that species can have something to do with age for demons, though I haven't asked about it whenever it was brought up—species, I mean. I know you're a snake demon, Sin; Rane's a spider demon; Mr. Ushio's a cow demon. But what about the rest of you?"

"Ah, I can explain that for you," Rosaliya spoke up to answer her. "You see, Macarona, as there are a variety of demons, there are multiple species of them as well as we all know now. There are two main categories of demons, however, which are based on how they came to exist. The first category are the fallen angels, angels who have fallen from their heavens; Reficul is a Fallen Angel, so that is her species. By contrast, I am a pure demon since I've never been an angel—I come from a mixed family of Dryads and Wood-Wives on both my paternal and maternal sides. Her Highness is a pure Aswang, a vampiric daywalker; and Lil is an ordinary vampire demon—both of them are also pure demons, as are Sin, Rane, and the former Colonel as you already noted. However, there's plenty of other species as well in addition to just our species' and field guides do exist in the worlds to explain which kinds of demons inhabit the underworlds in each one. Is there anything else?"

Macarona shook her head. "No, I believe you've covered everything so far, at least all that pertains to you and everyone else here. Thank you for the answer, Rosaliya. It was interesting."

The Flower Devil smiled at her as the young angel also smiled. "You're welcome, it was a pleasure giving a brief lecture on the nature of species to demons. Like I said, there are more, so I suggest you consult field guides as I suggested in case you'd like to know more, Macarona."

"Certainly, I'll be sure to pick a few up when I have time to."

"I know of a couple volumes in a bookstore I like to visit in the city," Sin offered, "I could take you there tomorrow before we head out for your world since I'll be joining you for the trip to it and stay over for a couple hours or so. They each cover international species in each world, plus the national species of this individual underworld; Rosaliya's world also sells the same first book, but the national catalogue covers the specific demons in her underworld just as the one in Lil's."

"Sure, I'd love to pay a visit there; I think I might've seen it when I first came here. It's the one closest to the train station, correct?" Macarona asked to clarify that as Sin nodded. "Alright, I can go there myself if you happen to be busy with something else, but I appreciate the offer."

"It's quite alright, Macarona," the snake demon smiled politely. "Rane and I have discussed opening Shiruku Nuno on Tuesday to have a day off on Monday for relaxation, so I'm free all day to take you back to the Gray Garden and spend some time with you there once we arrive."

"Sure, you're welcome to stay over as long as you'd like," Macarona remarked and smiled.

"What about the rest of us—those who can make it, I mean?" Lil inquired. "Are we allowed to come over and visit too for a while like this weekend? I'd love to see your world, Macarona.

Macarona nodded. "Certainly, I'd be happy to have you all over as guests and friends. I've mentioned that before already, but I really do mean it. You're all more than welcome to visit."

…

 **And that's pretty much it for** _A Weekend at Reficul's_ **; I've just got to do the epilogue and then it's complete. This was such a great project to work on like my other Gray Garden fanfics, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. After this I'd like to work on the chart about the timeline for my fanfiction projects about this game and Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea. As for other projects, I shall be doing several one-shots before the next big project, one of which was teased at the beginning of this chapter in addition to a story from that trilogy I want to write as well. Look forward to those, and I hope you enjoyed reading this as I enjoyed writing it. I appreciate the feedback in your reviews, and I shall always do my best to please.**

 **I just have a couple other things to mention before I wrap this up.**

 **First is a quick translation of Tani Pasu and Shiruku Nuno which I forgot to provide in the author's notes of the last chapter. The names are four words in Japanese; in English:**

 **Tani: Valley**

 **Pasu: Path**

 **Shiruku: Silk**

 **Nuno: Cloth**

 **I looked these up on Google Translate, but I'm not sure if the translations are wrong. Still, they fit together quite nicely as the names for Rane's hometown and the shop she works in with Sin respectively. Furthermore, Tani Pasu is a sort of Japanese town because of those architectural styles known as Sukiya-zukuri and Shoin-zukuri with a blend of some modern architecture in Japanese culture as well to set the atmosphere and settings for Tani Pasu.**

 **Second, as mentioned before near the end of this chapter, I have looked to Wikipedia and A Field Guide to Demons, Vampires, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits when determining what species of demons Rosaliya, Lil, and GriRea are. As Reficul has fallen from the heaven she used to live in with Mercury, the other angels, and Elux, she is a Fallen Angel; however, the species for the other three were found from the aforementioned sources. Dryads are mentioned on Wikipedia while Wood-Wives and Aswang were in the field guide.**

 **Anyway, like I said, I hope you enjoy reading this as I enjoy writing it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own A Field Guide to Demons, Vampires, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits; it's owned by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack.**


	10. Epilogue: End of the Weekend

"There…that's everything," Macarona remarked in satisfaction, having confirmed that she had everything she brought with her and also purchased here in the underworld over the weekend. Saying so, she collected her things and put her jacket on since it was raining outside. Her business and fun now finished, she picked up her things and joined Lil as the two of them headed out in the hall to meet up with the others. Only Reficul and Mercury were absent because they already went down to the main hall because the older angel was finished packing her own stuff as well, plus the staff and the Devil were helping her get all the equipment and things her team took on the mission.

"You both have everything, right?" Rane checked with them as the demon and angel gave her a nod to answer her. Of the guests who stayed over, the spider demon didn't collect her things yet despite having already packed it all up because she was going to come back for it later as she'd been asked by Sin to escort Rosaliya, Lil, and GriRea to a point where portals to their own worlds were located. One had also been established for the Gray Garden, but it was in the other direction.

Lil smiled. "Yep, everything's all set. I've got all I need with me right here."

"Don't forget my own luggage as well, Lil," the Queen commented to remind her of that.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'll be your pack mule again," the vampire demon joked and made sure she also gathered the suitcases Her Majesty brought with her for the weekend.

"You should know by now to fulfill such obligations, Lil," Rosaliya uttered blandly.

"So what if she's the Queen? I'm not her slave for manual labor," Lil retorted playfully.

"So you're all beginning to leave now, is that right?" Mercury asked, having walked up to them to say goodbye because everything was prepared and she was now ready to leave as well. "I have to get going too, so I'm here just to give my farewells to all of you and wish you a good day."

"Goodbye, Mercury, it was such a pleasure having you over," Sin remarked, slithering over to the older angel and giving her a warm hug which Mercury returned. "Good luck handling Elux."

"Thank you, I certainly hope everything goes well when I report what happened to her. She will definitely be suspicious because she may not believe part of it, but hopefully she'll tone down a possible assault that might get all of you caught up in her foolishness," Mercury stated and began to walk off as everyone said goodbye to her. Some of them waved and the older angel turned back to wave at them before leaving. "I know it's unlikely, but I hope we meet again sometime."

Macarona smiled at her. "Indeed, it'd be great to see you again if possible," she said as the older angel exited the corridor before the younger one turned to Sin. "Where's Ms. Reficul?"

"Oh, she's going to head on over to the border with Mercury," the snake demon explained. "She'll be shadowing her from a distance to ensure Mercury gets into her heaven safely. It's such a shame she isn't here to say goodbye in person, but she asked me to deliver the message for her."

"Well, be sure to tell Reficul we also give her our regards and said goodbye to her too," Lil remarked as they all began to head down into the foyer and out the front entrance where two horse drawn carriages were waiting to pick them up. Rosaliya and Rane got into one while the other four boarded the second carriage before beginning the short ride to the train station where they got off.

"It looks like this is where we split up now," Rosaliya stated once they disembarked to find the trains had already begun to arrive as well. "I suppose this means goodbye for now, Macarona."

"Indeed, I hope we see each other again someday, Rosaliya," Macarona commented as she shook hands with the Flower Devil and bowed before her and the others as a gesture of respect. "I will miss you all." She smiled and giggled as the vampire demon embraced her in a friendly hug.

"Oh, I'll miss you too, my new angelic friend!" Lil replied happily while the angel returned the gesture. "I'm so looking forward to an opportunity to visit the Gray Garden sometime soon!"

"Certainly, you'll be more than welcome to come anytime you want."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Macarona," GriRea stepped forward once Lil broke away from the young angel when Her Highness lightly tapped her with the fan. "You really are a unique angel, and I believe you can accomplish great things for your world, just like your ancestor."

Macarona shut her eyes again and bowed once more. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am most honored by your praise for it truly means a lot to me. I wish you well ruling the underworlds."

"Goodbye, Macarona, I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know you and your world," Rane uttered as she and the other three all gradually began to head onto one train.

"Same here, Rane, it was a pleasure getting to know you too," the young angel responded to her as the group sauntered up a flight of stairs to cross a short bridge down to the other platform so they could board the train after saying their goodbyes to Macarona and Sin.

"Looks like it's about time for us to be going as well, Macarona," the snake demon stated and joined the angel as the two of them boarded the other train going in the opposite direction.

"It certainly is," Macarona agreed, getting on while they both found a cabin for themselves and sat down across from each other. "I must say it was so much fun being here. Having the chance to make friends in other worlds is something I wouldn't want to pass up, and I'm glad to have been invited here. Thanks for the invitation, Sin, you really were a great hostess to everyone."

"Thank you, dear, it was a pleasure having you over," Sin responded. "I know Refi's been having a hard time with you staying over, but I'm just glad everything else worked out perfectly."

"Yep, I truly had a lot of fun and enjoyed my time in your underworld. I'm sure everybody back home is wondering what this place is like and what I've been doing here this weekend. What I loved most of all was being able to make several new friends during my stay here. It was a blast!"

"Yes, indeed it certainly was," Sin agreed, sighing peacefully as the train started to depart. "Of all the times I've gotten together with my friends, this weekend was by far my favorite because I got to introduce you to the others and have fun with all of you. It might not have been perfect as Refi was pretty afraid of having you over for the weekend, though it was still so amazing anyway."

Macarona nodded in agreement, grateful to Sin for the invitation and to the others for their friendship as well. "Yeah, it truly was," she remarked, recollecting everything that happened. She was looking forward to sharing her stories with everyone else, and couldn't wait to share them.


End file.
